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Love County
Love County
County
	Love County Courthouse in October 2014
	Location within the U.S. state of Oklahoma
	Oklahoma's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 33°57′N 97°15′W / 33.95°N 97.25°W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Founded	1907
Named for	Overton Love, a judge of the Chickasaw Nation
Seat	Marietta
Largest city	Marietta
Area
• Total	532 sq mi (1,380 km2)
• Land	514 sq mi (1,330 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2) 3.5%
Population (2020)
• Total	10,146
• Density	19/sq mi (7.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	love.okcounties.org

Love County is a county on the southern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,146.^[1] Its county seat is Marietta.^[2] The county was created at statehood in 1907 and named for Overton Love, a prominent Chickasaw farmer, entrepreneur and politician.^[3]

For tourism purposes, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism includes Love County in 'Chickasaw Country'. Love County is also part of the Texoma region.

History

The Louisiana Purchase, effected in 1803, included all of the present state of Oklahoma except the Panhandle. Explorers and traders began travelling extensively through the area, intending to find trade routes to Santa Fe. The Quapaw were the principal Native Americans living south of the Canadian River. The Quapaws ceded their land to the American government in 1818, and were replaced by the Choctaws in the early 1830s. The Chickasaws were assigned land in the middle of Choctaw territory during 1837–8.^[3]

Overton Love was one of the earliest Chickasaws who settled in present-day Love County. He was twenty years old when he arrived in Indian Territory from Mississippi in 1843. His settlement became known as Love's Valley (about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the present town of Marietta). He later became one of the largest Chickasaw landowners and cattle raisers in the area, working 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of Red River Bottomland. Eventually, he became a member of both houses of the Chickasaw National Council, a county and district judge, and a member of the Dawes Commission.^[3]

Prior to statehood, the area now known as Love County was part of Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. It had three incorporated towns: Marietta (the county seat, founded in 1887), Leon (established 1883) and Thackerville (established 1882). It also contained two unincorporated postal areas: Burneyville (post office established 1879) and Overbrook (post office established 1887).^[3] The settlement of Courtney at the mouth of Mud Creek was settled ca. 1872 by Henry D. Courtney.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 532 square miles (1,380 km²), of which 514 square miles (1,330 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (3.5%) is water.^[4] It is the fifth-smallest county in Oklahoma by land area.

Love County is within the Red River Plains physiographic region, with a rolling to hilly topography. The Red River and its tributaries Simon Creek, Walnut Bayou, Hickory Creek and Mud Creek drain the county. Lake Murray is on the northeastern border and Lake Texoma is on the southern border.^[3]

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	10,236	—
1920	12,433	21.5%
1930	9,639	−22.5%
1940	11,433	18.6%
1950	7,721	−32.5%
1960	5,862	−24.1%
1970	5,637	−3.8%
1980	7,469	32.5%
1990	8,157	9.2%
2000	8,831	8.3%
2010	9,423	6.7%
2020	10,146	7.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1790-1960^[6] 1900-1990^[7] 1990-2000^[8] 2010^[9]

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 8,831 people, 3,442 households, and 2,557 families residing in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile (6.6 people/km²). There were 4,066 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.15% White, 2.19% Black or African American, 6.41% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.58% from other races, and 3.41% from two or more races. 7.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,442 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The county's median household income was $32,558, and the median family income was $38,212. Males had a median income of $30,024 versus $20,578 for females. The county's per capita income was $16,648. About 8.80% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 15, 2023^[11]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	2,063	33.20%
	Republican	3,007	48.39%
	Others	1,111	17.88%
Total		6,214	100%

United States presidential election results for Love County, Oklahoma^[12]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	3,510	82.39%	689	16.17%	61	1.43%
2020	3,305	81.08%	711	17.44%	60	1.47%
2016	2,922	77.12%	735	19.40%	132	3.48%
2012	2,436	70.20%	1,034	29.80%	0	0.00%
2008	2,589	67.32%	1,257	32.68%	0	0.00%
2004	2,295	59.87%	1,538	40.13%	0	0.00%
2000	1,807	53.59%	1,530	45.37%	35	1.04%
1996	1,224	37.05%	1,675	50.70%	405	12.26%
1992	922	25.06%	1,708	46.43%	1,049	28.51%
1988	1,361	41.66%	1,889	57.82%	17	0.52%
1984	1,833	57.12%	1,359	42.35%	17	0.53%
1980	1,449	47.12%	1,578	51.32%	48	1.56%
1976	846	30.45%	1,923	69.22%	9	0.32%
1972	1,407	66.75%	671	31.83%	30	1.42%
1968	677	28.52%	931	39.22%	766	32.27%
1964	663	26.25%	1,863	73.75%	0	0.00%
1960	932	39.24%	1,443	60.76%	0	0.00%
1956	731	29.39%	1,756	70.61%	0	0.00%
1952	806	29.01%	1,972	70.99%	0	0.00%
1948	249	10.20%	2,191	89.80%	0	0.00%
1944	446	18.54%	1,955	81.29%	4	0.17%
1940	687	21.58%	2,485	78.07%	11	0.35%
1936	440	16.38%	2,227	82.88%	20	0.74%
1932	187	7.16%	2,426	92.84%	0	0.00%
1928	843	39.93%	1,268	60.07%	0	0.00%
1924	479	17.56%	1,713	62.79%	536	19.65%
1920	711	28.16%	1,662	65.82%	152	6.02%
1916	266	15.15%	1,125	64.07%	365	20.79%
1912	199	14.65%	750	55.23%	409	30.12%

Economy

Love County is home to Winstar World Casino, across the Red River from the Texas-Oklahoma border. The casino is operated by the Chickasaw Nation, and is the county's largest private employer. Agriculture and ranching have been important to the county economy since its inception. Leading non-agricultural employers include the Marietta Bakery, Murray Biscuit Company, Marietta Sportswear, Robertson Hams, Rapistan Systems, Earth Energy Systems, and the Joe Brown Company. The county also produces natural gas and its co-products propane and butanes.^[3]