By Caitlin Nearhood
Here’s another Ada you probably didn’t know about.
Ada, Oklahoma, is the county seat in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, and is located in south central part of the state. It’s also 90 miles from Oklahoma City. The population was 16,810 at the 2010 census, larger than our Ada. In 1891, a post office was established and the city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of Jeff Reed, the first local mail carrier and a relative of the Daggs family that first settled there.
Like our Ada community, Ada, Oklahoma, is a college town, and home to East Central University. Founded in 1909, ECU is a public university that educates about 5,727 students, and offers over 70 majors. Over 60 student organizations add excitement to student life, including fraternities, sororities, student government, and several honors societies. ECU is also one of only a few schools in the country that offers a degree in cartography (map-making), and has the largest percentage of cartography graduates in the nation.
In athletics, ECU competes in Division II in the Great American Conference, and participates in baseball, football, men’s and women’s basketball, cross country, tennis, golf, women’s soccer, softball, and women’s volleyball. ECU’s mascot is Roary the Tiger, and school colors include orange and black, similar to Ohio Northern’s colors.
Additionally, Ada is the headquarters of the Chickasaw Nation, a Native American tribe that made Ada its headquarters in 1975. The nation has their own community center, gaming center, hospital, school, and more. Click on the link below to learn more.
Ada used to have more manufacturing business in the 20th century, but many businesses and factories have since downsized or moved somewhere else since the beginning of 21st century. Wrangler jeans, car parts, plastic wear, and other products were produced then, but not anymore. Today, Machspeed Technologies, whose headquarters is located in Ada, is one of the largest manufacturers of tablet PCs and media players in the United States, and is one of Ada’s biggest businesses.
Among notable natives, country music fans know Blake Shelton - he was born and raised in Ada.
That’s what we know about Ada, Oklahoma. Check out these links to learn about Ada and other places there mentioned in the article:
Click here for photos of Ada, Oklahoma
Click here for the university located in Ada, Oklahoma
Click here for Ada, Oklahoma, city website
Click here for Chickasaw nation website
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