The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

MEEKER.

Located in Lincoln County, Meeker is situated at the intersection of State Highway 18 and U.S. Highway 62, approximately fourteen miles south of Chandler, the county seat. A nearby town, Clifton, had come into existence with the opening of Sac and Fox and Iowa lands for settlement on September 22, 1891. However, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch from Shawnee to Arkansas City, it bypassed Clifton and ran through the site of present Meeker, about two miles distant. Eventually Clifton residents moved to Meeker. In 1902–03 Walter and Rebecca Fowler and Julian L. and Lettitia Meeker deeded land to M. G. McKee, who had the town platted. The official plat was filed March 14, 1903. The residents selected the name of Meeker on May 29, 1903, because a town named Fowler already existed on the rail line. At 1907 statehood the population stood at 320, and it rose to 562 by 1930. It hovered between five hundred and seven hundred through the 1960s.

In the 1930s funding provided by the Works Progress Administration built the Fairview School (NR 97001149), the Spring Dell School (NR 96000376), and the Warwick School (NR 96000377). Meeker's primary economic base has always been agriculture. However, farming declined as large industrial plants were built nearby, better highways were constructed, and more people moved into town. Population peaked at 1,032 in 1980. Newspapers serving the citizens have included the Herald and the News. At the turn of the twenty-first century Meeker, with 978 residents, served as a "bedroom" community for individuals employed in Shawnee and Oklahoma City. The 2010 population was 1,144. The April 2020 census reported 1,002 residents. Meeker has been home to baseball players Carl Hubbell, Jay Hubbell, John Hubbell, Ray Honeycutt, William T. Winford, and Jim Winford. The Meeker Town Hall (NR 96000374) housed the Carl Hubbell Museum.

Frankie Fair Burchette

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