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Town story · Seminole County · 168 people (2020 Census)

Dixon, Oklahoma Just West of Wewoka

Dixon is a community of 168 people just west of Wewoka, the Seminole County seat. It has no town government of its own. What it has is a name on the map, neighbors close at hand, and a county story of Seminole land, railroads, and oil playing out a mile and a half from its door.

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The Seminole County Courthouse in Wewoka, a brick building with stone columns and a red roof, seen from across the street.
The Seminole County Courthouse in Wewoka, about a mile and a half east of Dixon. Photograph by kennethaw88, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Resized. License Source

The Story

Dixon is a small community in Seminole County, in east-central Oklahoma. The U.S. Geological Survey lists Dixon as a populated place on the Wewoka West topographic map, and the Census Bureau counts it as a census-designated place, a statistical community rather than an incorporated town with its own municipal government. Dixon lies about a mile and a half west of Wewoka, the county seat.1, 2, 3, 4

The ground Dixon stands on was Seminole land. After the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 and later agreements, the Seminole were assigned the lands that make up present Seminole County, and they made their capital at Wewoka. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Seminole County was created from that tribal land. The next year, voters chose Wewoka as the county seat.4, 5

Wewoka, the town Dixon neighbors, grew with the railroad and then with oil. In 1895 the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad, later part of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, built through Wewoka on its way from McAlester to Oklahoma City. Its side tracks there, the Wewoka Switch, became so well known for mislaid shipments that people spoke of freight being "lost in the Wewoka Switch." In March 1923 the Betsy Foster Number One, drilled near Wewoka, became Wewoka's first commercial oil well.5, 6, 4, 7

The census gives Dixon a clear, small outline. It counted 116 people in 1990, 83 in 2000, and 79 in 2010, then 168 in 2020, living among 91 housing units on a little over half a square mile of land. The 2020 count included 77 residents identified as White alone, 42 as American Indian and Alaska Native alone, and 27 as Black or African American alone. A later Census Bureau survey estimate, for 2020–2024, put the population at 150.2, 8, 9, 3

Around Town

  1. Dixon

    West of Wewoka, Seminole County (35.1595° N, 96.5217° W)

    Dixon today is a residential census-designated place in the Wewoka Division of Seminole County, without a municipal government of its own. Its homes are private; see the community from public roads and leave yards and driveways to the people who live there.1, 3

  2. Seminole Nation Museum

    524 South Wewoka Avenue, Wewoka

    In neighboring Wewoka, the museum documents and interprets the history and culture of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and of Wewoka, its capital. The museum opened in the fall of 1974.10, 11, 5

  3. Seminole County Courthouse

    South Wewoka Avenue between West First and West Second Streets, Wewoka

    The county courthouse was built in 1927, after county offices had sat in the Seminole National Capitol building. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.12, 4

  4. Wewoka Switch and Side Tracks

    State Highway 56, Wewoka

    The railroad side tracks of 1902–1930 that made "lost in the Wewoka Switch" a saying. Before statehood this was the only side track between Oklahoma City and Little Rock. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.6, 5, 7

  5. Hotel Aldridge

    South Wewoka Avenue at West Third Street, Wewoka

    A late-1920s hotel from Wewoka's oil-boom building years, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Best appreciated from the sidewalk.5, 13

If You Go

  • The Seminole Nation Museum, 524 South Wewoka Avenue in Wewoka, is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and is closed on federal holidays. Admission is free; donations are encouraged.10, 11
  • Wewoka celebrates sorghum making each fall at its Sorghum Festival, an event that traces to 1976. Check the current year's date before you go.14, 5
  • For maps and mail, Dixon is covered by ZIP Code 74884, whose post-office town is Wewoka.15
  • Dixon has no town hall or visitor center of its own; it is a residential community. Plan on Wewoka, about a mile and a half east, for services, and treat Dixon's streets as a neighborhood.3, 15
  • The museum welcomes appointments and group tours; contact it ahead for group programs and for its photography rules inside.10

Sources

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System. Dixon (feature 1092103). edits.nationalmap.gov
  2. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171), Oklahoma file (Dixon CDP, place 21000). www2.census.gov
  3. HomeTownLocator, Oklahoma Gazetteer (GNIS and Census based). Dixon, OK Profile: Facts & Data. oklahoma.hometownlocator.com
  4. Oklahoma Historical Society, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Seminole County. okhistory.org
  5. Oklahoma Historical Society, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Wewoka. okhistory.org
  6. Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, National Register Record 85002475. Wewoka Switch and Side Tracks. okshpo-share.com
  7. Seminole Nation Museum. Wewoka Switch Depot. seminolenationmuseum.org
  8. CityPopulation (source: U.S. Census Bureau). Dixon (Seminole, Oklahoma, USA) — Population Statistics. citypopulation.de
  9. Census Reporter (U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey). Dixon, OK — Profile data (ACS 2024 5-year). censusreporter.org
  10. Seminole Nation Museum. Visit. seminolenationmuseum.org
  11. TravelOK.com, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. Seminole Nation Museum. travelok.com
  12. Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, National Register Record 84003429. Seminole County Courthouse. okshpo-share.com
  13. Wikimedia Commons. File:Hotel Aldridge Wewoka.jpg. commons.wikimedia.org
  14. Seminole Nation Museum. Sorghum Festival. seminolenationmuseum.org
  15. ZIP Data and Maps. Dixon Oklahoma ZIP Codes — Map and List. zipdatamaps.com
  16. U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, feature 1092103. GNIS record
  17. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171), table P1, place 40-21000.

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