Area affected by the Dust Bowl between 1935 and 1938
Boise City was founded in 1908 by developers J. E. Stanley, A. J. Kline, and W. T. Douglas (all doing business as the Southwestern Immigration and Development Company of Guthrie, Oklahoma) who published and distributed brochures promoting the town as an elegant, tree-lined city with paved streets, numerous businesses, railroad service, and an artesian well.[a] They sold 3,000 lots to buyers who discovered, on their arrival, that none of the information in the brochure was true. In addition to using false publicity, the three men did not have title to the lots they sold.
Stanley and Kline were convicted of mail fraud and sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Stanley and Kline served two-year terms in the penitentiary. Douglas died of tuberculosis before beginning his sentence. The town nevertheless took shape and incorporated on July 20, 1925.[4]
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says that the origin of the town name is unclear, but offers three possibilities: (1) a Captain Boice who was a hero in the Civil War, (2) the town of Boise, Idaho or (3) the Boise Cattle Company, which ran cattle in the area.[4] It was speculated in Ken Burns' documentary, The Dust Bowl, that the town name was chosen as part of the original land scam to evoke a false image of the town, as "boisé" is French for "wooded".
Boise City's prosperity in the 1930s, like that of Cimarron County generally, was severely affected by its location at the heart of the Dust Bowl region.[15][16]
Boise City was the location of an unusual event during World War II when it was mistakenly bombed by a friendly U.S. bomber crew during training. The bombing occurred on July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m. by a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber.[17] This occurred because pilots performing target practice became disoriented and mistook the four lights centered around the town's main square as their target. No one was killed in the attack and there was minimal damage, as only practice bombs with four pounds of dynamite and ninety pounds of sand were used and the square was deserted, but the pilots were embarrassed. For the 50th anniversary of the incident, the crew of the bomber was invited back to Boise City, but all members declined, some for health reasons and others because they did not want to draw more attention to their mishap. The B-17's former radio operator did, however, send an audio tape that was played at the celebration.[18][19]
According to weather data tallied between July 1, 1985, and June 30, 2015, for every location in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's official climate database, Boise City, Oklahoma, is the snowiest place in the state of Oklahoma with an average of 31.8 inches of snow per year.
[21]
Climate data for Boise City, Oklahoma, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1908–2020
As of the census[3] of 2020, there were 1,166 people and 440 households. The population density was 1,180.6 inhabitants per square mile (455.8/km2). There were 675 housing units (230.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White (61.6% non-Hispanic), 0.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.4% of the population.
As of 2020, there were 440 households, with an average family size of 3 people. 46.8% were married couples living together, 28.63% had a female householder with no husband present, 13.8% had a male householder with no husband present, and 10.7% were cohabiting. The average household size was 2.
The population age was distributed such that 8.1% were 5 years or younger, 31.2% were between 5 and 18 years old, 68.8% were 18 years or older, and 16.8% were 65 years and older. The median age was 35.2 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,750, and the median income for a family was $46,350.[24]
Economy
The local economy is based on ranching, farming, and the production of oil and natural gas.[4]
The local paper, starting as the Cimarron News in 1898 in Kenton, Oklahoma, has been known as The Boise City News since 1930.[25] Calling itself The Official Newspaper of Cimarron County, it is available in both print and digital editions.[26]
Transportation
Main highway through Boise City, looking west (2011)
The Cimarron Heritage Center Museum includes exhibits and artifacts on dinosaurs, the Santa Fe Trail and other local historic sites.[34] The museum grounds showcase a restored Santa Fe Depot, a blacksmith shop, a one-room schoolhouse, a windmill exhibit, buggies, and more.[34] The grounds are home to "Cimmy" the "Cimarronasaurus", a metal sculpture 65 ft. long and 35 ft. tall, said to be a life-sized Apatosaurus dinosaur cut-out calculated from the bones of a dinosaur that was actually excavated in western Cimarron County in the 1930s.[35][36]
Santa Fe Train Caboose in Boise City, Oklahoma
The Cimarron County Chamber of Commerce is located in a red train caboose.[37] Out front of the caboose is featured the Boise City Bomb Memorial, commemorating the accidental 1943 aerial bombardment.[38]
Autograph Rock Historic District, containing rutted traces of the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, features Autograph Rock, inscribed with the names of travelers from the 1850-1865 era.[39] Access to the site can be granted at the Cimarron Heritage Center Museum.[34] The separate Cold Spring and Inscription Rock Historic District similarly features Inscription Rock with Santa Fe Trail travelers' names inscribed, but also has a former camp site with a stone building that served as a stagecoach station, and a stone spring house.[40]
^They had claimed before their arrests in September 1909 that three railroads were coming through the town.[4] In fact, no railroad came through town until the Elkhart and Santa Fe Railway (both leased to and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway),[7] did so in 1925.[4] The tracks of that line continued to Felt, Oklahoma, and were extended to Clayton, New Mexico in 1932; but, the whole segment from Boise City to Clayton was abandoned in 1942.[8][9] The remainder from Boise City northeast is now part of the Cimarron Valley Railroad.[10] In 1931, Santa Fe built a new line north from Amarillo through Boise City and beyond.[11] That line, terminating in Springfield, Colorado,[12] is now known as the Boise City Subdivision or the Boise City Sub, operated by BNSF Railway.[13][14]
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