Woodward is located in the state of Oklahoma and has a lot of culture to offer as well as great sights and interesting destinations. So if you’re planning a trip to Woodward, you’ve come to the right place!
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Vacation in Woodward
Woodward is a city in central Oklahoma with a population of just over 12,000. It is the county seat of Woodward County. Woodward is located on Interstate 40, about 80 miles west of Oklahoma City. It is also about 60 miles east of Amarillo, Texas.
Woodward was founded in 1887, when the Santa Fe Railway reached the area. The city was named for J.E. Woodward, the president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Woodward was a stop on the famous Route 66 from 1926 to 1984.
Today, Woodward is a thriving city with a variety of businesses and industries. It is also a popular tourist destination, thanks to its many attractions.
Some of the top places to visit in Woodward include the following:
Woodward Park: This park is home to a variety of attractions, including a walking trail, a playground, a basketball court, and a pond.
Woodward Golf Club: This 18hole golf course is one of the best in the state.
Woodward Museum: This museum is dedicated to the history of Woodward and the surrounding area.
Woodward Raceway: This raceway offers drag racing, gokarting, and other motoring events.
Boatwright Zoo: This zoo is home to more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers, and bears.
Whether you’re looking for a place to enjoy the outdoors or to learn about the history of the area, Woodward is a great choice for a vacation destination.
Sights in Woodward
Woodward is the largest city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is situated on the edge of the Oklahoma Panhandle in the Great Plains of northwestern Oklahoma, approximately 110 miles (180 km) northwest of Oklahoma City and 55 mi (89 km) east of the Colorado border. The population of the city was 12,051 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,481, or 11 percent, from the 2000 census. Woodward is home to Northwest Oklahoma State University, a regional state university.
The town was named after Baldwin Wood ward, a prominent judge and landowner. With the arrival of the railroad in 1879, Woodward became an important cattle shipping center for the rapidly expanding western cattle industry. However, it was the discovery of oil in 1903 that brought true prosperity to the town.
The massive oil discovery quickly attracted thousands of workers to the region, as well as fortune seekers from all over the country. The resulting boom led to the construction of many new buildings, including the art decostyle Woodward Hotel, which opened in 1926.
Despite its relatively small size, Woodward has a number of interesting and beautiful sights. The Woodward Park and Zoo is a great place to see some of the local wildlife, while the Bois d’Arc Preserve is perfect for a nature hike. For a taste of the Old West, be sure to check out the Fort Supply Historic Site, which tells the story of a frontier outpost that was once crucial to the defense of the area.
And of course, no visit to Woodward would be complete without seeing the world’s largest handplanted forest, which covers more than 2,000 acres (810 hectares) just outside of town.
History of Woodward
Woodward, Oklahoma is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a ninecounty area. The population was 12,051 at the 2010 census. The Census estimates the 2019 population at 13,362.
Woodward is on the western edge of the state just east of the 100th meridian west, somedistance from either an interstate highway or a US highway. It is the busiest highway corridor in the state, with US412 and State Highway 3 jointly forming a fourlane divided highway that is sometimes called “Oklahoma’s Main Street” and handles more than 5,000 vehicles daily. Woodward is approximately 102mi northwest of Oklahoma City, 142mi west of Tulsa, and just east of the intersection of US54 and US183.
The town was established in 1887 when the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (SF) reached the area. It was named after John Woodward, an engineer with the railroad. The town prospered as a shipping center for ranching and farming operations in northwestern Oklahoma but its population growth was hampered after the nearby opening of the Cherokee Outlet to white settlement in 1893. The timber industry also played a role in the city’s early development.
In 1901, Woodward was chartered as a city. Richard Lloyd Jones, a rancher and land developer from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, arrived in Woodward in 1904 and purchased the barbershop. He laid out a townsite named Lloyd’s Addition, which incorporated the unplatted southern part of Woodward.
The city continued to grow slowly through the first half of the 20th century, with the population reaching 5,115 by 1950. The arrival of the Interstate Highway System invigorated the city’s growth, and it has continued since then. The city has a councilmanager form of government.
Woodward is home to Fort Supply Lake, one of Oklahoma’s largest lakes, and the Woods and Plains Reservoirs, which supply water to the city. It is home to several museums, including the Woodward Public Library and Museum, the Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum, and the Stewart War Memorial Museum.
The city hosts the annual Woodward Elks Rodeo, the largest rodeo in Oklahoma and one of the largest in the nation, and the Woodward wine festival, which is the second largest in the state. It is also home to the Woodward Golf and Country Club, which has hosted the Oklahoma Open tournament.
The city lies in Tornado Alley and is susceptible to severe weather. On April 15, 1947, Woodward was struck by two tornadoes, the first an F5 on the Fujita scale, which killed 107 people and injured 583, making it the deadliest tornado in Oklahoma history. The second, an F4, struck the city’s north side.
The city has a diverse economy, with a mix of agriculture, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, retail, and service businesses. The city’s largest employers are Alamo Energy, Woodward Regional Hospital, Woodward Public Schools, and Hendrix Foods.
The area around Woodward was first inhabited by the Plains Indians, who used it as a hunting ground. The Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche were the most common tribes in the area.
The first Europeans to settle in the area were the Spanish, who established a fort in presentday No Man’s Land, Oklahoma. The fort was abandoned after a few years and the area remained uninhabited until the 1880s.
In 1887, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (SF) reached the area and established a station. The town was originally named Sunflower, but was renamed Woodward after John Woodward, an engineer with the railroad. The town prospered as a shipping center for ranching and farming operations in northwestern Oklahoma.
The Santa Fe Railway also reached the Woodward area in 1887. The two railroads competed for passengers and freight business until 1897 when they agreed to share the Woodward Depot. The competition between the railroads helped Woodward to grow and prosper.
In 1893, the Cherokee Outlet was opened to white settlement and many folks from Woodward moved there to start new farms and ranches. The population growth of Woodward was hindered by the competition from the new settlements in the Cherokee Outlet.
The timber industry also played a role in the city’s early development. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Wichita Mountains were heavily forested with oak, hickory, and walnut trees. The Choctaw Lumber Company built a sawmill in Woodward in 1901 and it operated for about 25 years. The lumber company employed a large number of Woodward residents and helped to spur the city’s growth.
In 1901, Woodward was chartered as a city. The city continued to
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