Norman (/ˈnɔːrmən/) is the 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 census.[5] It is the most populous city and the county seat of Cleveland County and the second-most populous city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area after the state capital, Oklahoma City, 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Norman.
The city was settled during the Land Run of 1889, which opened the former Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory to American pioneer settlement. It 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 banner of 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 largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university, as well as 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 geographic region colloquially known for frequent and intense tornadic activity. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC), a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that delivers forecasts for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other high-impact hazardous weather in the contiguous United States, is located at the NWC. Additionally, research is conducted at the co-located National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), which operates various experimental weather radars and develops innovative tools, applications, and techniques aimed at improving forecasts and warnings of severe weather.
The Oklahoma region became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before the American Civil War, the U.S. government began relocating 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.[6]
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.[6] In the early 1870s, the federal government undertook a survey of these unassigned lands. Abner Ernest Norman, a 23-year-old surveyor from Kentucky, was hired to oversee part of this project.[6] 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.[6][7] In 1887, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway began service to the area,[6] which was later opened to settlement as part of the Land Run of 1889;[6][8] early settlers decided to keep the name "Norman."[6][7]
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,[6] and by the next morning a downtown was already being constructed.[6] 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.[6] The two were interested in growing the city and had reasoned that, rather than try to influence territorial lawmakers to locate 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).[6] On December 19, 1890, Larsh and Waggoner were successful with the passage of Territorial Council Bill 114, establishing the University of Oklahoma in Norman about 18 years before Oklahoma statehood.[6]
The City of Norman was formally incorporated on May 13, 1891.[9]
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,[10][11][12][13] nor could they study at the University of Oklahoma. In 2020, the Norman City Council issued an apology.[14]
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.[15] 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.[16]
With the completion of Interstate 35 in June 1959,[17] 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.[15][16] Throughout the 1960s Norman's land mass increased by 174 sq mi (450 km2) by annexing surrounding areas.[15] The city's growth trends have continued early in the 21st century, with the population reaching 95,694 in 2000,[15][16] 110,925 in 2010,[16][18] and 128,026 in 2020.[16]
In 1941, the University of Oklahoma and Norman city officials established Max Westheimer Field, a university airstrip, and then leased it to the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Training Center in 1942.[15] It became the Naval Air Station Norman, and it was used for training combat pilots during World War II. A second training center, known as Naval Air Technical Training Center, and a naval hospital were later established to the south.[15] In the years following World War II the airstrip was transferred back to the university's control.[19] Today the airstrip is called the University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport. Following the war the remaining military presence and post-war veterans who came to Norman to get an education again grew the city's population, which was 27,006 by 1950.[15][16] The Navy again utilized the bases in a lesser capacity from 1952 to 1959 in support of the Korean War effort.[15]
As of 2010, the city has a total area of 189.42 sq mi (490.6 km2), of which 178.77 sq mi (463.0 km2) is land and 10.65 sq mi (27.6 km2) is water.[20]
The center of this large incorporated area is 20 mi (30 km) from the center of Oklahoma City, and separated primarily by Moore, is in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.[21]
Norman and the surrounding areas are mostly flat with an elevation near 1,171 ft (357 m).[22] The terrain in the western section of Norman is prairie,[23] while the eastern section, including the area surrounding Lake Thunderbird, consists of some 6,000 acres (24 km2) of lakes and Cross Timbers forest.[23]
Norman has a wide variety of neighborhoods. Downtown Norman is an area of approximately 2 sq mi (5 km2) bounded by University Blvd., Symmes St., Porter Ave., and Daws St.; primary streets include Main St. and Gray St.[24] The area consists of restaurants, art galleries, and other businesses;[24] it is home to some of the oldest buildings in Oklahoma.[25]
Hall Park is an area northeast of downtown Norman that was originally an independent township; in 2005 it was annexed into Norman, becoming one of its neighborhoods.[26] The area is home to many middle-class suburban homes and is historically important in that it was advertised as the United States' first "all-electric town."[26] President Ronald Reagan, then an executive with General Electric, attended Hall Park's grand opening ceremonies in 1962 where he was named the town's honorary first mayor.[26]
The University of Oklahoma and the area surrounding it are home to many historically significant neighborhoods.[27] The university itself has a unique Gothic-inspired architecture known as "Cherokee Gothic," so named by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.[28] Churches and houses in the surrounding neighborhoods can be described as neo-Gothic or Queen Anne in style. Norman has two city-designated historic preservation districts in the area: the Miller Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Classen Blvd., and Miller Ave.;[27] and the Chautauqua Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Brooks St., Chautauqua Ave., and Lahoma Ave.[27] Both of these residential neighborhoods contain houses designed from a mixture of architectural styles dating from 1903 to 1935, with the majority of the Miller neighborhood being of the Bungalow or American Craftsman style homes.[27] Any external changes or repairs to homes in these areas must be approved by the Norman Historic Preservation Commission.[27]
The area immediately north of the university is known as Campus Corner and contains a mixture of businesses, bars, and restaurants.[29] The neighborhoods to the east of the campus are home to many students, both in residential housing and high-rise condos/apartments.[30]
Norman enjoys many tree-lined landscapes, participating in the ReLeaf Norman and Tree City USA programs.[31][32][33]