Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Bison Bison, OK

Bison is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on U.S. Highway 81 in southern Garfield County, built around a town plat of just 30 acres.

Bison was named for nearby Buffalo Springs, a historic stagecoach stop and watering hole on the Chisholm Trail located about a mile north of the community.

Bison's post office opened on August 31, 1901, a year after its first store, hotel, and bank were established.

Bison has a strong Catholic heritage: its St. Joseph's parish church was erected in 1909, followed by a two-story brick school operated by the Sisters of the Divine Providence from 1911 to 1934 and then by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ.

The Bison State Bank served the community from 1900 until 1933, when it closed during the Great Depression.

Bison's Hotel Woodring, established in 1900, was run by Irvin and Ella Woodring, parents of aviator Irvin "Bertie" Woodring, for whom Enid Woodring Regional Airport is named.

The Bison Cooperative Association, founded in 1920 — the same year Oklahoma Gas & Electric first brought electricity to town — still anchors an economy based on farming and oil, with grain elevators and oil wells on several farms.

The 2020 census counted 56 people in Bison, living in 19 households, down from 65 residents in 2010.

Bison endures sharp continental weather swings: its recorded temperature extremes run from 115 degrees Fahrenheit in August down to minus 18 degrees in February.

Bison lies 14 miles south of Enid, the Garfield County seat, and its students attend Waukomis Public Schools.