Hardesty, Oklahoma

Hardesty, Oklahoma
Town
Historic marker on the western edge of Hardesty
Location in Texas County and state of Oklahoma.
Coordinates: 36°36′59″N 101°11′27″W / 36.61639°N 101.19083°W / 36.61639; -101.19083[2]
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Texas
Area [1]
• Total	0.22 sq mi (0.58 km2)
• Land	0.22 sq mi (0.58 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [2]	2,907 ft (886 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	205
• Density	912.2/sq mi (352.22/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	73944
Area code	580
FIPS code	40-32550[3]
GNIS feature ID	1093528[2]

Hardesty is a town in Texas County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town’s population was 205.^[4]

The original Hardesty was four miles northeast of the present community.^[5] It had a post office in 1887, with the name honoring A.J. "Jack" Hardesty, who had interests in the area. However, the Rock Island railroad bypassed the town in 1901 and created the locale that became Guymon, Oklahoma. Most of Hardesty’s residents and businesses relocated to Guymon, and the original town withered.^[5]

When a second Rock Island line later came through the county near the old Hardesty in 1929, a new community along the route was named Hardesty at the insistence of locals.^[5] However, growth of the new Hardesty was stunted by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.^[5] The town nevertheless incorporated in 1947 and remains in place, complete with a post office and a school district covering 250 square miles.^[5][6][7]

Hardesty is just south of the Coldwater Creek arm of the Optima Lake project, including Optima National Wildlife Refuge, and the Optima Wildlife Management Area public hunting lands managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The town is approximately 18 miles southeast of Guymon along Oklahoma State Highway 3,^[8] which runs concurrently with U.S. Route 412 through Hardesty.^[9]

As of the 2020 census, Hardesty had a population of 205. The median age was 31.8 years. 30.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 113.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.6 males age 18 and over.^[11][12]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[13]

There were 75 households in Hardesty, of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.3% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[11]

There were 92 housing units, of which 18.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 10.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%.^[11]

It is in the Hardesty Public Schools school district.^[14]

• Hardesty Public School District

• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Hardesty Archived October 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine