Харрах, Оклахома: История и современность города

Harrah is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Located 25 mile (40 km) east of downtown Oklahoma City, Harrah had a population of 6,245 people as of the 2020 Census, a 22.6% increase from 2010. The first settler of the area, who was Potawatomi, arrived in the 1870s, but the town was not incorporated until 1908. The town was settled by Americans, Polish immigrants, and other groups and had a cotton ginning center. The city is overseen by a city council and mayor and includes a police department and fire station.

Harrah is a small city in Oklahoma with a total land area of 11.9 square miles (31 km2), all land. The city's elevation is 925 feet (282 m) above sea level. It lies partly in the Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states in the United States. It lies between the larger cities of Oklahoma City to the west and Shawnee, to the east, in Oklahoma County. Harrah is located in the Crosstimbers ecoregion and the Frontier Country tourism region.

Oklahoma is located in a temperate region and experiences occasional extremes of temperature and precipitation typical of a continental climate. Harrah lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold and warm air masses producing severe weather. An average of 54 tornadoes strike the state per year. The city frequently experiences temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C). Navarre, was a member of the Potawatomi people who had signed an 1867 treaty to sell their Kansas lands in order to purchase lands in Native Territory with the proceeds. They also became citizens of the United States and thus became known as the Citizen Potawatomi. In 1890, Navarre and the Citizen Potawatomi participated, unwillingly, in the allotment process implemented through the Dawes Act of 1887. With this Act, the Citizen Potawatomi people were forced to accept individual allotments. Originally named Sweeney, after E. W. Sweeney, who operated a ferry beginning in 1891, the town was renamed Harrah on December 22, 1898, and was incorporated in 1908. By 1990 4,206 people lived in Harrah.

As of the 2022 census, there were 6,425 people. As of the 2010 census, The population density was 503 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 84% white, 1% African American, 7.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 4% of the population. The per capita income for the city was $32,778. The city also holds a municipal court twice a month. The City of Harrah includes several departments, including a small fire department consisting of several paid firefighters and many volunteer firefighters. The police department includes full time detectives, patrol officers, part time officers, and voluntary reserve officers. The city also offers a comprehensive set of public utilities managed by the utility department and a public works department. Both districts offer primary and secondary school education. Harrah schools spend approximately $3,204 per student and have 16 students per teacher. No higher education institutions exist in Harrah. Oklahoma Baptist University is located approximately 30 miles to the southeast in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and other options lie 30–45 minutes to the west in Oklahoma City and to the southwest in Norman.