Felt, Oklahoma

Felt, Oklahoma
Felt school in 2024
Felt school in 2024
Location in Cimarron County and state of Oklahoma
Location in Cimarron County and state of Oklahoma
Coordinates: 36°34′3″N 102°47′37″W / 36.56750°N 102.79361°W / 36.56750; -102.79361
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountyCimarron
Area
 • Total0.53 sq mi (1.36 km2)
 • Land0.53 sq mi (1.36 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
4,450 ft (1,360 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total77
 • Density146.39/sq mi (56.56/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
73937
FIPS code40-25850

Felt is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town’s population was 77.[2] It was named for C.F.W. Felt of the Santa Fe Railroad. Nearby is the Cedar Breaks Archeological District, included on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. The community is served by a post office (established July 16, 1926) and a school. During the Great Depression in 1936 a farm in Felt was the site of the iconic Dust Bowl photograph known as Dust Bowl Cimarron County, Oklahoma.

Felt was the original destination of the Elkhart and Santa Fe Railway.[3] This line, both leased to and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway,[4] was built in 1925 from Elkhart, Kansas through Boise City to the town, and extended to Clayton, New Mexico in 1932; but, the whole segment from Boise City to Clayton was abandoned in 1942.[5][6]

Geography

[edit]

Felt is located in southwestern Cimarron County, near the western end of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Felt is less than five miles north of the Texas border,[7] and just over 12 miles east of the New Mexico border.[8] It is the nearest Oklahoma community to the Texhomex marker, being about 14 miles east-northeast of the tripoint of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.[9] U.S. Routes 56, 64, and 412 pass concurrently through the community, leading northeast 20 miles (32 km) to Boise City, the Cimarron County seat, and southwest 24 miles (39 km) to the larger Clayton, New Mexico. The town is essentially surrounded by the Rita Blanca National Grassland,[10] and the federally-maintained Felt Picnic Site is just south of town.[11][12]

Felt Picnic Area, April 2024

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note
202077
U.S. Decennial Census[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Felt (CDP), Oklahoma". United Stares Census Bureau. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "Texas County". Dianna Everett, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870 to April 1, 1978. State of Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Survey Division. April 1, 1978. p. 37.
  5. ^ "Cimarron County". Norma Gene Young, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Boise City, OK to Clayton, NM". AbandonedRails.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "N0130 Rd to Felt, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Feeder Rd, Clayton, NM to Felt, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "Tri-State Monument to Felt, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "Felt, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Felt Picnic Site". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  12. ^ "Felt Picnic Site to Felt, Oklahoma". Google Maps. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  13. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.