Seminole County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, framed by the North Canadian River on the north and the Canadian River on the south. It had a population of 23,556 at the 2020 census and covers 640 square miles (1,700 km2) centred near 35°10′N 96°37′W.
Wewoka is the county seat, and its postal code is 74884. The county has four incorporated cities and towns — Wewoka, Seminole, Konawa and Maud — plus New Lima and Bowlegs and several smaller unincorporated communities. The county sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Seminole County
Seminole is the county’s largest city; Wewoka, its historic oil-boom seat, is the smallest of the county’s incorporated cities in area. Most of the remaining places on the list below are unincorporated communities and post-office settlements that never organized as towns. Dewright is a recognized ghost town.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wewoka | City · seat | — | 74884 |
| Seminole | City | — | 74868 |
| Konawa | City | — | 74849 |
| Maud | City | — | 74854 |
| New Lima | Town | — | 74868 |
| Bowlegs | Town | — | 74830 |
| Sasakwa | Unincorp. | — | 74867 |
| Cromwell | Unincorp. | — | 74837 |
| Dixon | CDP | — | — |
| Lima | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Little | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Nobletown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Schoolton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Vamoosa | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wolf | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Butner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dewright | Unincorp. (ghost town) | — | — |
Lima and New Lima are two distinct places despite the shared name — Lima is an unincorporated crossroads community, while New Lima is a separately incorporated town a few miles away near Bowlegs.
ZIP Codes
- 74884 — Wewoka
- 74868 — Seminole (also serves New Lima)
- 74849 — Konawa
- 74854 — Maud
- 74830 — Bowlegs
- 74867 — Sasakwa
- 74837 — Cromwell
Smaller unincorporated communities such as Butner, Dixon, Lima, Little, Nobletown, Schoolton, Vamoosa and Wolf are served by the ZIP code of their nearest post-office town rather than a ZIP of their own.
Geography
Seminole County lies in central Oklahoma between the North Canadian River, which forms its northern edge, and the Canadian River, which forms its southern edge. The terrain is a mix of rolling prairie and post-oak timber, dotted with the pumpjacks and tank batteries left from the county’s early-20th-century oil boom. Of the county’s 640 square miles, about 633 square miles are land and 7.6 square miles are water.
Seminole County borders Okfuskee County to the northeast, Hughes County to the east, Pontotoc County to the south, and Pottawatomie County to the west.
Demographics
Seminole County had a population of 23,556 at the 2020 census. Seminole is the county’s largest community, followed by Wewoka, the county seat. The county’s population is roughly 61% white and 20% American Indian or Alaska Native, one of the higher Native American shares of any Oklahoma county, reflecting its history as the former reservation of the Seminole Nation. Median household income in the county runs well below the Oklahoma median of $62,138. At 640 square miles, the county’s overall population density is about 37 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Seminole County’s economy still carries the imprint of the Greater Seminole oil field, one of the largest oil discoveries in American history when it was found in 1926. Petroleum production, agriculture and cattle ranching remain the backbone of the local economy today, alongside county and municipal government, healthcare and retail centred in Seminole and Wewoka. The county is home to Seminole State College, a two-year public college founded to train workers for the oil industry, now the largest employer in Seminole itself.
History
Seminole County was created at Oklahoma statehood in 1907, carved from land that had been the reservation of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma after the tribe’s forced relocation from Florida on the Trail of Tears. A small tract at the county’s eastern end also belonged to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The county’s defining event came in 1926, when the Greater Seminole oil field was discovered — an eventual yield estimated at 822 million barrels of oil, one of the richest fields ever found in the United States. The nearby 1927 discovery at Maud is credited with pioneering reflection seismology, a technique still used worldwide to locate oil and gas deposits.
Getting There
Interstate 40 crosses the northern part of Seminole County near Konawa, and State Highway 9 runs through the county seat area, connecting Wewoka and Seminole to the rest of central Oklahoma.
- Shawnee — about 25 miles north
- Oklahoma City — about 60 miles northwest
- Ada — about 30 miles south
- Okmulgee — about 35 miles east
The nearest major commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Seminole County, Oklahoma?
It is in central Oklahoma, between the North Canadian and Canadian rivers, roughly 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
What is the population of Seminole County?
23,556 people, at the 2020 census.
How big is Seminole County?
640 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 633 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Seminole County?
Wewoka is the county seat.
How many towns are in Seminole County?
Four incorporated cities — Wewoka, Seminole, Konawa and Maud — plus New Lima and Bowlegs, and a number of smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Seminole County?
Wewoka is 74884, Seminole is 74868, Konawa is 74849, Maud is 74854, Bowlegs is 74830, Sasakwa is 74867 and Cromwell is 74837.
Why is Seminole County known for oil?
The Greater Seminole oil field, discovered in 1926, was one of the largest oil discoveries in U.S. history and shaped the county’s towns and economy for decades.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oklahoma.