City: Chattanooga, Comanche County
General Profile | Demographics and Housing | Labor Force | Transportation | Education | Utilities/Telecom | Economy and Taxes | Development | Government | Climate | Quality of Life
On July 22, 1902, Nelson Sisson, a homesteader from Chattanooga, Tennessee, filed the Original Townsite plat, naming the Town after his former home city. About the same time, the Rock Island Railroad began construction of its line toward Chattanooga from Lawton. For 16 years, the line ended at Chattanooga. In 1918, the Railroad extended its line on to Grandfield and Wichita Falls, Texas, creating a minor "boom" in the Town's farm-related economy. In 1904, A. J. Mangan filed a plat for an additional 80 acres on the Town's east side.
The opening of the "Big Pasture" in 1907 drew nearly 1,000 settlers to the area, with as many as half of these settling in Chattanooga. An earlier shot of growth was experienced in 1904, when the nearby Town of Slogan (sometimes called "Old Faxon") was dissolved. Residents of Slogan either moved into Chattanooga or stayed to form the new Town of Faxon.
When first incorporated, Chattanooga bustled with activity. There were banks, businesses, churches, newspapers and a school. The citizens of Chattanooga drank water from a pond until 1911, when well water was provided from a well field near Faxon; this well field still produces water for the Town today.
The Town's economy is agricultural-based (corn, cotton and wheat), with some residents commuting to Lawton and nearby Wichita Falls, Texas for their employment. In 1942, when the Railroad abandoned the Lawton-to-Grandfield run, Chattanooga suffered a major blow.
Census figures show that the Town declined in population until the late 1960s, when the impacts of the Vietnam War build-up at Fort Sill began to be felt in the areas surrounding Lawton. After a brief "correction" in the 1970s, the Town has slowly grown in population into the mid-400s. Today, the Town has virtually become the northern "Gateway" to the Hackberry Flats wetland area east of Frederick. Virtually every visitor to the Flats from the north passes through Chattanooga; as visitation numbers to Hackberry Flats increase, the Town will have another source with which to build an expansion of its local economy.
Chattanooga has an excellent record of Municipal achievement: the Town owns and operates its own Airport; maintains excellent water, sewer and solid waste services; supports a sizeable School System; is involved in an active Park development program; operates a Community Facility and Civic Center (restored Downtown buildings) for a variety of Community functions; uses very current computer facilities; schedules necessary improvements from its Five-Year Capital Improvements Program (CIP); and maintains an excellent Volunteer Fire Department. The Town of Chattanooga is an Oklahoma "Century Community".
The Town is currently exploring ways to expand its economic base by creating an Economic Development Trust Authority to help finance re-use of the vacant buildings in the Downtown. One such building has housed the Fiesta Restaurant for many years; during that time, the Fiesta has helped make Chattanooga a destination for those who love authentic Mexican food.
Chattanooga has received a Community Development Block Grant to inventory infrastructure features for Capital Improvement Planning (CIP).
Community Website: www.chattyok.com
Contact Information
business@okcommerce.org community@okcommerce.org 1-800-879-6552
Population Totals
