Today’s Oklahoma counties did not always exist in the present form. They went through many different changes in the space of a few short years.

Oklahoma Territorial Counties

The Indian Territory was created from the Indian Intercourse Act on June 30, 1834 and existed until May 2, 1890.

The Oklahoma Territory existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907. There were originally 7 Oklahoma counties when it was first organized as the Oklahoma Territory in 1890.

These counties were designated numerically, 1 through 7. The first 7 Oklahoma counties were later renamed in 1907

  • County 1 – renamed to Logan County in 1907
  • County 2 – renamed to Oklahoma County in 1907
  • County 3 – renamed to Cleveland County in 1907
  • County 4 – renamed to Canadian County in 1907
  • County 5 – renamed to Kingfisher County in 1907
  • County 6 – renamed to Payne County in 1907
  • County 7 – renamed to Beaver County in 1907

New counties added after this were designated by letters of the alphabet. The State of Oklahoma entered the union as the 46th state on November 16, 1907.

The Oklahoma Constitutional Convention named all of the counties that were formed when Oklahoma entered statehood in 1907. Only two counties have been formed since then.

The State of Oklahoma entered the union as the 46th state on November 16, 1907.

Oklahoma Counties Today

Today, Oklahoma is currently divided into 77 counties. States bordering Oklahoma are ArkansasColoradoKansasMissouriNew Mexico and the Texas.

Fun Facts about Oklahoma Counties

Counties by Year

County Size Facts

County Population Facts

Oklahoma City Facts

Oklahoma’s 10  largest cities (2016 est.) are:

  1. Oklahoma City (643,648) is in Oklahoma County
  2. Tulsa (401,800) is in Tulsa County
  3. Norman (122,843) is in Cleveland County
  4. Broken Arrow (108,303) is in Tulsa County
  5. Lawton (93,714) is in DeKalb County
  6. Edmond (91,950) is in Oklahoma County
  7. Moore (61,523) is in Cleveland County
  8. Midwest City (57,308) is in Oklahoma County
  9. Enid (50,122) is in Garfield County
  10. Stillwater (49,829) is in Payne County

Boundary Changes of Oklahoma Counties from 1819-1912

This Interactive Map of Oklahoma Counties show the historical boundaries, names, organization, and attachments of every county, extinct county and unsuccessful county proposal from 1819 to 1912.

List of Oklahoma Counties

List of Old Former / Extinct Oklahoma Counties

Oklahoma contains some counties that no longer exist because they were discontinued, renamed or merged with another county. These are important for genealogy research purposes.

The below counties formerly within the area of the State of Oklahoma no longer exist:

A County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 22, 1893 from the former Absentee Shawnee, Iowa, Kickapoo, and Sac & Fox Lands administered by the Sac & Fox Agency. County A was renamed to Lincoln County on November 7, 1907.

B County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from the former Absentee Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Pottawatomie Lands administered by the Sac & Fox Agency. County B was renamed to Pottawatomie County on November 16, 1907.

C County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on April 19, 1892 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory and a small area of Kingfisher County. County C was renamed to Blaine County on November 16, 1907.

D County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory. County D was renamed to Dewey County on November 16, 1907.

E County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory. On April 19, 1892, County E was renamed to Day County in honor of William R. Dayon.

On November 16, 1907, Day County in Oklahoma Territory, was abolished. It lost all territory to Roger Mills County and to the creation of Ellis County.

F County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory. County F was renamed to Roger Mills County on April 19, 1892.

G County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands. On November 6, 1896, County G was renamed to Custer County in honor of General George Armstrong Custer.

H County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation lands. County H was renamed to Washita County on November 16, 1907.

I County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from Kowa, Comanche,Apache, Wichita, Caddo Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory.

On July 8, 1901, County “I” was abolished. It lost all territory to Blaine, Canadian, Custer and Washita counties; and to the creation of Caddo County.

K County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet and the Tonkawa Indian Reservation lands in Oklahoma Territory. County “K” was renamed to Kay County on November 16, 1907.

L County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. County “L” was renamed to Grant County on November 16, 1907.

M County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 1, 1891 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. County “M” was renamed to Woods County on November 6, 1894.

N County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. In a November 6, 1894, election, County “N” was renamed to Woodward County.

O County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. County “O” was renamed to Garfield County, in honor of President James A. Garfield, on November 16, 1907.

P County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. County “P” was renamed to Noble County, in honor of John W. Noble (interior secretary), in 1893.

Q County, Oklahoma Territory

Created on September 16, 1893 from part of the Cherokee Outlet. County “Q” was renamed to Pawnee County, in honor of the Pawnee Native American people, on November 6, 1894.

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