Kiowa

Formed July 8, 1901 (23^rd county)

Kiowa County (8,503), Hobart (3,415)

The 1905 masonry and dark red brick courthouse sits in a park setting on the square at South Main between 3^rd and 4^th streets.  The building’s designer was James Riely Gordon.  The current structure was remodeled in 1972.  The facility is the first courthouse since the formation of Kiowa County on July 8, 1901 thus Hobart is the only county seat.  The county was named for the Native American tribe.  The county came from the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation as the 23^rd county.  Vice President Garrett A. Hobart is the source for the county seat’s name. 

Kiowa County government consists of a treasurer, a sheriff, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Seven District Court Judges serve Kiowa, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, and Tillman counties and a court clerk serves Kiowa County (judicial.)  The county is in the southwest part of the state west of Lawton, Oklahoma.  The county center is 13.8 miles Southeast of Hobart nearer Gotebo.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Washita, Caddo, Comanche, Tillman, Jackson, Greer, and Beckham counties. 

The area of the county is 1015 square miles.  It is 18 out of 77 in the state.  It ranks 62 out of 77 in population in the state.  It has a density of 8.4 persons per square mile making it 63 out of 77 in the state.  Kiowa County has 77.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 62 crosses the southern tip of the county from Comanche County in the east into Tillman County in the southwest.  United States Highway 183 enters from the north, Washita County, and exits to the south, Tillman County.  A champagne cork best describes the shape for the county.  The North Fork of the Red River is the western border and the Washita River is the northeast border.  Hobart is located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Hobart is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 40.2% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KIE-OE-WA.  The county seat is pronounced HOE-BART.