Pottawatomie County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, centred on the Shawnee metropolitan area southeast of Oklahoma City. It had a population of 72,454 at the 2020 census and covers 793 square miles (2,050 km2), of which 788 square miles are land and 5.7 square miles are water, centred near 35°12′N 96°56′W.
Shawnee is the county seat, and its postal code is 74801. The county has 2 cities, 12 incorporated towns, 1 census-designated place and several unincorporated communities. Pottawatomie County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Pottawatomie County
The county’s 20 named places split between two cities (Shawnee and Tecumseh), 12 incorporated towns, one census-designated place (Dale) and a handful of unincorporated communities that never organised a town government. 2020 place-level population figures were not available from a verifiable source for this rewrite, so the population column is marked — rather than guessed; the county-wide 2020 count of 72,454 above is confirmed.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee | City · seat | — | 74801 |
| Tecumseh | City | — | 74873 |
| Asher | Town | — | 74826 |
| Bethel Acres | Town | — | — |
| Brooksville | Town | — | — |
| Earlsboro | Town | — | 74840 |
| Johnson | Town | — | — |
| Macomb | Town | — | 74852 |
| Maud | Town | — | 74854 |
| McLoud | Town | — | 74851 |
| Pink | Town | — | — |
| St. Louis | Town | — | 74866 |
| Tribbey | Town | — | — |
| Wanette | Town | — | 74878 |
| Dale | CDP | — | — |
| Aydelotte | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bellemont | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Harjo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pearson | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Romulus | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sacred Heart | Unincorp. | — | — |
Maud sits on the Pottawatomie–Seminole county line, with part of the town in each county; the figures above cover only the Pottawatomie side. Sacred Heart is the site of a former Benedictine mission and is not a formal municipality, but it is a long-standing named community on maps of the county.
ZIP Codes
- 74801 — Shawnee (also 74804 and PO-Box-only 74802)
- 74873 — Tecumseh
- 74851 — McLoud
- 74854 — Maud
- 74840 — Earlsboro
- 74878 — Wanette
- 74852 — Macomb
- 74826 — Asher
- 74866 — St. Louis (PO Box)
Bethel Acres, Brooksville, Dale, Johnson, Pink, Tribbey and the unincorporated communities have no post office of their own and are served by the nearest Shawnee, Tecumseh or McLoud ZIP code.
Geography
Pottawatomie County lies in the Cross Timbers transition zone between the tallgrass prairie to the west and the oak-hickory woodland to the east, giving the landscape a mix of open pasture and post-oak thicket. The North Canadian River crosses the northern part of the county and the South Canadian River runs along its southern reach, both part of the wider Arkansas River drainage; Little River and several smaller creeks feed both.
The county borders Lincoln County to the north, Okfuskee County to the east, Seminole County to the southeast, Pontotoc County to the south, McClain County to the southwest, Cleveland County to the west, and Oklahoma County to the northwest.
Demographics
The county’s 2020 census population was 72,454, most of it concentrated in Shawnee and Tecumseh, its two largest communities. Median household income was reported at $54,896 (2021 American Community Survey estimate for the county), below the Oklahoma median of $62,138. With 788 square miles of land, the county’s overall density works out to roughly 92 people per square mile, though most of that population lives in and around Shawnee rather than spread evenly across the rural south and east.
Economy & Local Life
Shawnee anchors the county’s economy: Oklahoma Baptist University, a private Baptist liberal-arts school, is based there, and the city is the headquarters of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe that operates the FireLake casino and several other enterprises in and around town. Outside Shawnee and Tecumseh, the county’s economy is largely agricultural — cattle grazing, wheat, hay and pecans on the bottomland — with a legacy of oil and gas production around Earlsboro, an early-20th-century boomtown built on the Earlsboro oil field.
History
Pottawatomie County was organised in 1891, initially as “County B,” after the September 22, 1891 land run opened former Sac and Fox, Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi and Shawnee reservation lands to non-Indian settlement; it was renamed Pottawatomie County in 1892 for the Potawatomi people relocated to the area after an 1867 treaty. Tecumseh was the original county seat; the seat moved to Shawnee, by then the larger railroad town, in 1930.
Getting There
Interstate 40 crosses the county west to east through Shawnee and Tecumseh, and U.S. Highways 177, 270 and 377 connect the smaller towns to the north and south.
- Oklahoma City — 35 miles northwest via I-40
- Norman — 30 miles southwest via SH-59/I-35
- Ada — 40 miles south via US-177
- Stillwater — 45 miles north via SH-18
Shawnee Regional Airport handles general aviation; the nearest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma?
It is in central Oklahoma, immediately southeast of Oklahoma City, anchored by the city of Shawnee.
What is the population of Pottawatomie County?
72,454 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Pottawatomie County?
793 square miles (2,050 km2), of which 788 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Pottawatomie County?
Shawnee, which became the seat in 1930 after Tecumseh served as the original county seat.
How many towns are in Pottawatomie County?
Two cities (Shawnee and Tecumseh), 12 incorporated towns, one census-designated place and several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Pottawatomie County?
Nine standard ZIP codes covering Shawnee, Tecumseh, McLoud, Maud, Earlsboro, Wanette, Macomb, Asher and St. Louis, plus a PO-Box-only code.
Why is it called Pottawatomie County?
It is named for the Potawatomi (Pottawatomie) Nation, whose members were relocated to a reservation in this area under an 1867 treaty before the county opened to non-Indian settlement in 1891.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oklahoma.