Blanchard, Oklahoma is a small town located in Township 8 North, Range 4 West, Section 30 of northwestern McClain County. It was established by the Canadian Valley Construction Company, which had plans to build a railroad. However, the company went bankrupt and the Oklahoma Central Railroad took over the line. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads eventually completed the project. The town of Blanchard has a nucleus of around one square mile of streets arranged in a grid shape, situated on top of a gentle hill.
Surrounding this nucleus are agricultural and development areas within a radius of 4 miles (6 km). Downtown Blanchard is home to houses (half built before 1960), several churches, and a historic Main Street area. The downtown area also has antique stores, restaurants, city services, a center for the elderly, and a gym. On the outskirts of the city center are schools, businesses, and modern housing subdivisions. These subdivisions tend to be low-density lots (usually one to 5 acres) (20,000 m²).
The average age in Blanchard is 39.8 years (37.2 in Oklahoma). The town has four high schools with an average enrollment of 200 out of approximately 1460 students. There is also an elementary school for pre-kindergarten to second grade, a middle school for grades 3 through 5, and another middle school for grades 6 through 8.Brady Barnes is the superintendent of Blanchard Public Schools. The Blanchard Public Library is part of the Pioneer Library System that covers many of the suburbs of Oklahoma City. There are two parks in Blanchard as well as a sports stadium and three golf courses nearby.
Additionally, there are more restaurants and small businesses looking to buy land and build in Blanchard. The Blanchard City Council meets regularly on the fourth Tuesday of every month (except for observed holidays) at the Blanchard Municipal Courthouse. To prevent urban sprawl from swallowing up the city, a major annexation was carried out in 2004 to provide Blanchard with a buffer zone. The current mayor of Blanchard is John Smith. He has been selected as president of the new Veterans Memorial Park in Blanchard. While Blanchard is often described as a commuter city with much of its workforce moving to nearby Norman and Oklahoma City, local businesses are starting to grow.
