Okeene, Oklahoma

Must be a keen place, Oklahoma. Some parts are OK. Yeah, a lot of puns in those sentences.

I will say this for Oklahoma: Sometimes it’s as close to Texas as can be, and I don’t mean just because it sits north of the Red River.

Okeene is in Blaine County, three counties east of the Texas Panhandle. In case you were wondering, Keene is Out There – 23 miles north of Watonga; 20 miles southeast of Fairview; 24 miles west of Hennessey; and 17 miles west of Canton. So, if you are in Okeene, it’s because you want to be. Lot of places in Oklahoma and Texas like that. Lot of people journeyed to Oklahoma and Texas, seeking fortune, leaving fame or infamy back where they came from. Some wound up with different names, too. Their last name back home might be recognized by somebody who wore a star pinned to his shirt. Sometimes, too, the new arrivals took the last name of someone well known in the new area. There wasn’t necessarily any claim to kinship, but if people wanted to think so …

Okeene’s 2010 population was 1,204. Its highest ever population was 1,601, in 1980. According to the 2000 census, 97.34 percent of the people were white.

Blaine County’s 2010 population was 9,785.

In the Okeene Zip Code, 98 percent of the people live in housing units, with the remaining 2 percent (36) in nursing facilities. Interestingly, a plurality of houses were built before 1940. Forty-five percent of the population works full time; 26 percent work part time; and 29 percent report no earnings.

Here is a link to a satellite image covering a large area around Okeene:

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1008943,-98.5803963,78347m/data=!3m1!1e3