Jefferson

Formed November 16, 1907 (46^th county)

Jefferson County (5,338), Waurika (1,840)                

The Art Deco building was built in 1931.  Its site is seven blocks north of United States Highway 70 at North Main (Oklahoma State Highway 5) and C streets.  Layton, Hicks and Forsyth, the architects, created this tan brick and masonry structure.  There have not been any other permanent structures serving as county courthouse thus Waurika has been the only county seat.  President Thomas Jefferson gave Jefferson County its name.  The county was part of Comanche County and the Chickasaw Nation before its November 16, 1907 establishing as the 46^th county.  Waurika comes from the Native American word meaning “camp of clear water.” 

Jefferson County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Twelve District Court Judges serve Jefferson, Comanche, Cotton, and Stephens counties.  The county is in south central Oklahoma southeast of Lawton, Oklahoma.  Its southern border is the Red River with Texas.  The county center is 9.1 miles East of Waurika.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Stephens, Carter, and Love counties and Texas and Cotton County. 

The area of the county is 759 square miles.  It is 44 out of 77 in the state.  It ranks 68 out of 77 in population in the state.  It has a density of 7.0 persons per square mile making it 67 out of 77 in the state.  Jefferson County has 74.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 70 enters from Carter County in the east and exits into Cotton County on the west.  United States Highway 81 crosses north to south from Stephens County into Texas.  The county is an upside down bowl of popcorn.  Waurika is in the far northwest part of the county.  Waurika is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 34.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced WA-REE-KA.