Blackburn

Blackburn is a town in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 108 at the 2010 census, up 5.9 percent from 102 at the 2000 census. It is 12 miles (19 km) east of the city of Pawnee.

History
Located on the south side of the Arkansas River at a natural ford, the community of Blackburn developed after the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893. It was named for Kentucky Senator Joseph C. S. Blackburn. A post office was established December 15, 1893.

Positioned on the south side and at a natural ford of the Arkansas River, a toll bridge, a wagon bridge, and a ferry at various times connected Blackburn, Oklahoma Territory (O.T.), with the Osage Nation to the north. Because it was located in Oklahoma Territory, Blackburn was a "whiskey town" that bordered the "dry" Indian Territory until statehood in 1907. The town was incorporated April 21, 1909.

Blackburn’s economy has been primarily based on agriculture, with cotton and corn as the principal crops. Consequently, the community had a cotton gin, a flour mill, a livery stable, and several blacksmiths. Due to a drought in 1901, hundreds abandoned their farms. Those who remained formed an association and held an annual reunion, at least through the 1950s. Blackburn hosted the Pawnee County fair from 1903 to 1909. Although oil was discovered nearby, Blackburn never developed into an oil-boom town. Early newspapers included the Blackburn Globe, Blackburn Flash-Light, and Blackburn News. By 1909 the community boasted two banks, a public school, and three churches.

The town’s growth was stunted by the fact that it was never connected by a railroad or a state highway. At 1907 statehood Blackburn had 330 residents. In 1910 the population peaked at 335. From 1920 to 1940 the numbers dropped from 257 to 198. As residents moved away, the post office was closed on March 31, 1960, and the population reached a low of 88 in 1970. Between 1980 and 1990 the numbers remained steady at 114 and 110, respectively. As of the census of 2000, there were 102 people, 41 households, and 25 families residing in the town.

In 1984 Blackburn consisted of a combination gasoline station-sandwich shop and three churches. At the turn of the twenty-first century the town had 102 citizens and served as a "bedroom" community to 100 percent of the employed residents, who commuted to work in Pawnee and other job centers. The Blackburn Methodist Church (NR 84003398) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), of which, 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (6.25%) is water.

* Wikipedia contributors. (2018, November 8). Blackburn, Oklahoma. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:12, November 11, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blackburn,_Oklahoma&oldid=867783844

* Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Cutlure. (2009, January 5) Blackburn. Retrieved 22:20, November 11, 2018, from https://web.archive.org/web/20090105043747/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BL006.html.