About

Norman, OK, is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, behind the state capital, Oklahoma City. It is 20 miles south of OKC.

Norman was settled during the Land Run of 1889, which opened the former Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory to American pioneer settlement. The city was named in honor of Abner Norman, the area’s initial land surveyor, and was formally incorporated on May 13, 1891. Norman has prominent higher education and related research industries, as it is home to the University of Oklahoma, the largest university in the state, with nearly 32,000 students. The university is well known for its sporting events by teams under the nickname “Sooners,” with over 85,000 people routinely attending football games. The university is home to several museums, including the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, which contains the most extensive collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university, and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

Norman’s National Weather Center (NWC) houses a unique collection of university, state, federal, and private sector organizations that work together to improve the understanding of events related to the Earth’s atmosphere. Norman lies within Tornado Alley, a region with intense, widespread tornadic activity. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, including Norman, is the world’s most tornado-prone. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC), a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch, is at the NWC. SPC forecasts severe storm and tornado outbreaks nationwide. Additionally, research is conducted at the co-located National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), which includes field research and operates various experimental weather radars.

History

The Oklahoma region became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before the American Civil War, the U.S. government relocated the Five Civilized Tribes—the five Native American tribes that the United States officially recognized via treaty—to Oklahoma. Treaties of 1832 and 1833 assigned the area known today as Norman to the Creek Nation.

After the Civil War, the Creeks were accused of aiding the Confederacy; as a result, they ceded the region back to the United States in 1866. In the early 1870s, the federal government surveyed these unassigned lands. Abner Ernest Norman, a 23-year-old surveyor from Kentucky, was hired to oversee part of this project. Norman’s work crew set up camp near what is today the corner of Classen Boulevard and Lindsey Street; it was there that the men, perhaps jokingly, carved a sign on an elm tree that read “Norman’s Camp,” in honor of their young boss. In 1887, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway began service to the area, which was later opened to settlement as part of the Land Run of 1889; early settlers decided to keep the name “Norman.”

On April 22, 1889, that first Land Run in what would become the state of Oklahoma saw the founding of Norman, with at least 150 residents spending the night in makeshift campsites. By the following day, downtown was already being constructed. Almost immediately, two prominent Norman businessmen, former Purcell railroad freight agent Delbert Larsh and railroad station chief cashier Thomas Waggoner, began lobbying for the territorial government to locate its first university in Norman. The two were interested in growing the city and had reasoned that rather than try to influence territorial lawmakers to find the heavily contested territory capital in Norman; it made sense to attempt to secure the state’s first university instead (a move that would be far less controversial). On December 19, 1890, Larsh and Waggoner successfully passed Territorial Council Bill 114, establishing the University of Oklahoma in Norman about 18 years before Oklahoma’s statehood.

The new Norman was a sundown town. African Americans were not allowed to live within the city limits or stay overnight until the early 1960s, nor could they study at the University of Oklahoma. In 2020, the Norman City Council issued an apology.

Norman has grown throughout the decades. By 1902 the downtown district contained two banks, two hotels, a flour mill, and other businesses; by 1913, over 3,700 people lived in Norman when the Oklahoma Railway Company decided to extend its interurban streetcar running from Oklahoma City to Moore into Norman, spurring additional population growth. The rail lines eventually transitioned to freight during the 1940s as the United States Numbered Highway system developed. The population reached 11,429 in 1940.

Welcome marker on Main Street
With the completion of Interstate 35 in June 1959, Norman found its role as a bedroom community to Oklahoma City, increasing rapidly; in 1960, Norman’s population was 33,412, but by the end of the decade had grown to 52,117. Throughout the 1960s, Norman’s land mass increased by 174 sq mi by annexing surrounding areas. The city’s growth trends have continued early in the 21st century, with the population reaching 95,694 in 2000, 110,925 in 2010, and 128,026 in 2020

Norman OK Zip Codes

73019, 73026, 73069, 73070, 73071, 73072

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Norman’s geographical coordinates as 35.240577°N 97.345306°W (35°14’26″N 97°20’43″W). This appears to be the city limits’ geographical center, including Lake Thunderbird. Virtually all of Norman’s development is well to the west of this point.

As of 2010, the city has a total area of 189.42 sq mi, of which 178.77 sq mi is land and 10.65 sq mi is water.

The center of this large incorporated area is 20 mi from the center of Oklahoma City and, separated primarily by Moore, is in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Museums and theater

Norman enjoys many cultural attractions that the university funds. The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art made national and international news in 2000 when it was given the Weitzenhoffer Collection, the most prominent French Impressionist art ever provided to an American university. The collection includes works by Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History contains over 50,000 sq ft of exhibits ranging from archaeology, paleontology, ethnology, herpetology, ornithology, and Native American studies. Its shows are intended to immerse visitors in the state’s long history. The museum features many complete collections of dinosaur fossils and is also noted for its Paleozoic collection, considered one of the largest and most important.

The Moore-Lindsay House is a Queen Anne-style home built before 1900 by prominent Norman home builder William Moore; it was purchased by Norman in 1973 and today serves as the city and Cleveland County’s historical museum. Located at 508 N. Peters, the Moore-Lindsay House’s architecture represents Norman during the Victorian era. The Cleveland County Historical Society maintains a collection of over 5,000 rare books, documents, and other artifacts in its archives located inside the house.

Catlett Music Center at the University of Oklahoma features many orchestral and jazz performances. The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts Schools of Dance, Drama, and Musical Theatre offers many student programs throughout the year.

The city is also home to many privately funded galleries and performance sites.