Carter

Formed November 16, 1907 (32^nd county)

Carter County (48,004), Ardmore (24,722)

The stately domed Classical Revival courthouse of Carter County was built in 1910.  The building is located two blocks east and one block south of Oklahoma State Highways 77S and 199 at First and B streets.  Layton, Smith & Hank and W. A. Tackett designed this masonry and concrete structure.  It is the only courthouse for this county thus Ardmore has been the only county seat.  The building was enlarged in 1956 and renovated in 1976.  There are three annexes supporting the courthouse.  The county was formed on November 16, 1907 as the 32^nd county.  Carter County was cut from Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.  Carter County was named for a prominent settler family.  Ardmore is named for Ardmore, Pennsylvania. 

Carter County government consists of a treasurer, a sheriff, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Seven District Court Judges serve Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall and Murray counties and a court clerk serves Carter County (judicial.)  The county is located in south central Oklahoma south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  The county center is 9 miles Northwest of Ardmore nearer Newport.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Garvin, Murray, Johnston, Marshall, Love, Jefferson, and Stephens counties. 

The area of the county is 824 square miles.  It is 36 out of 77 in the state.  It ranks 17 out of 77 in population in the state.  It has a density of 58.3 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 77 in the state.  Carter County has 74.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 crosses north to south from Murray County into Love County.  United States Highway 70 comes from Johnston County, on the east, and goes into Jefferson County, on the west.  United States Highway 77 parallels Interstate Highway 35 from Murray to Love counties.  United States Highway 177 comes in from the north, Murray County, and terminates in Carter County.  The county is shaped like a chair facing to the east.  Ardmore is in the southeast corner of the county.  Ardmore is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 51.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced ARD-MORE.  This county is in the Ardmore Micropolitan Statistical Area.