Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a major city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area.
Norman is situated south of Oklahoma City and is the third largest city in in the state. As of July 1, 2003, the city had 99,197 full-time residents. It is the county seat of Cleveland CountyTemplate:GR.
Norman is best known as the location of the University of Oklahoma, making it a center of culture, technology, and scientific research. Norman is one of the world's most prominent centers of meteorology. The city is home to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the university's meteorology department is one of the most highly regarded in the world. Norman is the birthplace of Doppler radar.
Norman is also home to the university-operated Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, (one of the largest of its kind) and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, which made news in 2001 when it was given the Weitzenhoffer Collection, the single most important collection of French impressionist art ever given to an American university, including works by Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro, among others.
Geography
Norman is located at 35°13'18" North, 97°25'6" West (35.221617, -97.418236)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 490.8 km² (189.5 mi²). 458.5 km² (177.0 mi²) of it is land and 32.4 km² (12.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.60% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 95,694 people, 38,834 households, and 22,562 families residing in the city. The population density is 208.7/km² (540.6/mi²). There are 41,547 housing units at an average density of 90.6/km² (234.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 82.36% White, 4.26% African American, 4.45% Native American, 3.49% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.37% from other races, and 4.01% from two or more races. 3.89% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 38,834 households out of which 27.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% are married couples living together, 9.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% are non-families. 30.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.31 and the average family size is 2.93.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 21.4% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100 females there are 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $36,713, and the median income for a family is $51,189. Males have a median income of $35,896 versus $26,394 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,630. 15.0% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway planned Norman as a station site in Indian Territory in 1886-87, taking the name "Norman's Camp," a phrase that (the story goes) had been carved in a nearby tree 16 years earlier by the crew of a U.S. Land Office surveyor, Abner Norman, who may have camped nearby while mapping the area. The town itself, while platted by the railroad, wasn't settled until the Great Land Run of 1889, the mad dash by white settlers to claim the so-called Unassigned Lands at the center of Indian Territory. By nightfall on April 22, 1889, Norman probably had several hundred residents, camped in tents and covered wagons on town lots that wouldn't remain vacant for long.
Community events
- annual Mardi Gras parade (downtown Norman)
Notable residents and natives
Actor James Garner
Singer Toby Keith
Country Singer Vince Gill
Pornostars Nils Schlupp, Jan Schlupp
Bands Chainsaw Kittens, yeah, lasers!, The Flaming Lips, Student Film, The Purple Cow Story, Same Day Service
