Blaine County, Oklahoma: History
Blaine County was one of several counties created by the Land Run of 1892. It was designated county "C" in 1890 before the land run. According to one account, the designation "C" remained until the first public elections in 1892. When the time came to choose another name for the county, there seemed to be roughly equal support for two military heroes: "Sheridan" and "Custer". Before voting began, the chair gave a stirring speech proposing Blaine, who had recently died and was a local favorite. The majority of voters swung behind Blaine's name, which was ultimately chosen for County C. The area was settled by Creek and Seminole, whom the federal government relocated to the area in the 1820s and 1830s. The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were relocated to the area from Colorado in 1869 after the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 had taken the land back from the Creek and Seminole.
The land run was held after giving members of the tribe allotments of 160 acres (0.65 km2) each.
A post office was established in the county seat of Watonga, the same year as the land run. The Enid and Anadarko Railway and the Blackwell, Enid, and Southwestern Railroad ran lines through the county from 1901 to 1903. The Blaine County Courthouse was built in 1906.
The town of Geary, which also received a post office in the same year as the land run, became an agricultural trade center in the county and had a population of 2,561 by 1902. The town was home to "the oldest bank in Blaine County." Okeene was also established in the year of the land run and was surrounded by farmers of German descent.
In 1904, Blaine County was the birthplace of voice actor Clarence Nash, the original voice of Disney's Donald Duck. The county's population was 17,227 in 1907, rising to 17,960 in 1910. It had declined to 15,875 by 1920.
The U.S. highway system reached Oklahoma in 1926. U.S. Highways 270 and 281 were constructed through Blaine County. The county was also served by the Postal Highway as early as 1912; it later became part of U.S. Highway 66.
The county's population peaked at 20,452 in 1930. New Deal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps employed county residents and built Roman Nose State Park, which opened in 1937.
By the 21st century, the county had a population of 11,976.