Avoca Township, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma

Avoca Township was located in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. It should not be confused with Avoca, which was a smaller community inside the township.

Avoca Township
Township
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountyPottawatomie
EstablishedLate 1800s
Area
 • Total75 sq mi (190 km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)

Location

Avoca township was located in southeastern Pottawatomie County, with Konawa Municipal Township (and the Seminole County line) to the east, St. Louis Township to the north and the South Canadian River to the south. The western boundary was about two and a half miles west of present-day Asher. The township encompassed about 75 square miles (190 km2).[1] Post offices in the Avoca Township area included:[2]

Town Post Office Dates
Sacred Heart Mission 1879–1949
Osmit 1884–1887
Avoca (later Asher) 1894–present
Meanko 1896–1901
Boyer 1897–1900
Violet 1899–1905

Statistics

The following table shows the population grown and then decline of Avoca Township. The population decline beginning in 1920 can be attributed to a growing interest in Shawnee, OK, in the northern part of the county.[3]

Year Households Individuals Home Owners Home Renters Housing Not Specified
1900 390 2,156 178 212 0
1910 808 4,228 413 139 0
1920 628 3,204 288 272 68

Schools in the township

Schools in the township (and what is known about them) include:[4]

  • Asher (c. 1913–present). Asher is and was the only high school developed within the township. See Asher, Oklahoma.
  • Avoca (1892 - ?). Avoca had a small school near what is now the cemetery. See Avoca, Oklahoma
  • Cook (1892 - aft. 1920). The school, originally one-room, was formed in 1892 and later expanded when a second and larger room was added. At some point between 1910–1920, the building was completely refurbished and again enlarged. It is believed this school was located near the Pottawatomie-Seminole county line.
  • Gravel Hill School (1903 - ?). This school replaced Lazell School.
  • Lazzell (1895–1903). This school, housed in a log cabin, was located two and a half miles east of Asher, near Chisholm Springs. It began around December 1895 and closed in April 1903 (due to financial shortfalls, there was no school 1899-1900). It was replaced by Gravel Hill School.
Teacher Year
Miss Alice Shelton 1895–1897
Miss Mollie Ferrell 1898
Mr. Willis 1898–1899
J.G. Hudiburg 1899
No School 1899–1900
F. M. Forston 1900–1903

References
  1. Kennedy, Authur Ward (1995). They Came from Everywhere and Settled Here. Konawa, OK: Kennedy Library of Konawa. pp. 56, 213.
  2. Kennedy, Authur Ward (1995). They Came from Everywhere and Settled Here. Konawa, OK: Kennedy Library of Konawa. p. 150.
  3. Kennedy, Authur Ward (1995). They Came from Everywhere and Settled Here. Konawa, OK: Kennedy Library of Konawa. pp. 130, 131.
  4. Kennedy, Authur Ward (1995). They Came from Everywhere and Settled Here. Konawa, OK: Kennedy Library of Konawa. pp. 773–775.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.