Ardmore

Ardmore is a business, cultural, and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,950 in 2013. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 48,491 in 2013.
Ardmore is located 90 miles equidistant from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, at the junction of Interstate 35and U.S. Highway 70, and is generally considered the hub of the ten-county region of South Central Oklahoma. Ardmoreis situated 9 miles south of the Arbuckle Mountains and islocated at the eastern margin of the Healdton Basin, oneof the most oil-rich regions of the United

Ardmore is the principal trade center with major employers featuring Michelin North America (1,900employees)and Mercy Memorial Hospital (900 employees). Several hundred employees work for regional distribution centersi.e. Best Buy, DollarTree, and Dollar General Stores. Being home to many pioneers in the dawn of the American oil industry, Ardmore has been blessed with riches far beyond most cities its size, as well as the colorful past that often accompanies such “instant” wealth. The wealth has been channeled into many philanthropically endeavors, as well as reinvested into the area in various art and infrastructure endowments.

Ardmore City Schools and Plainview Public Schools operate public schools in Ardmore. Additionally, Ardmore is home to the University Center of Southern Oklahoma (a consortium-model system of higher education) which offers courses and degrees to the local population fromfour participating institutions of higher education: Murray State College, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, East Central University, and Oklahoma State University (from the Oklahoma City campus). Also, the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center, a career andtechnical education school for high school, college, and adult continuing education in technology and career development, is run by the state of Oklahoma with taxpayer assistance. It also serves as a training facility for the TASO (Training Alliance Services of Oklahoma)in which businesses train their employees to help perform their jobs better with better training.

Ardmore is regarded as the brightest jewel of the various cities that make-up the southern Oklahoma/north Texas area. Ardmore wasnamed after the affluent Philadelphia suburb and historic Pennsylvania Main Line stop of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, which was named afterArdmore, Ireland, by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1873. The name “Ardmore” is Gaelic, signifying high grounds or hills.