[7] Ardmore is 90 miles (140 km) from both Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 70, and is generally considered the hub of the 13-county region of South Central Oklahoma, also known by state tourism pamphlets as "Chickasaw Country" and previously "Lake and Trail Country".

Ardmore is situated about 9 miles (14 km) south of the Arbuckle Mountains and is located at the eastern margin of the Healdton Basin, one of the most oil-rich regions of the United States.

[citation needed] Ardmore, Indian Territory, began with a plowed ditch for a Main Street in the summer of 1887 in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.

[8] In the early 1900s, Ardmore became well known for its abundance of cotton-growing fields and eventually became known as the world's largest inland cotton port.

On September 27, 1915, a railroad car containing casing gas exploded, killing 43 people, injuring many, and destroying much of downtown, including areas rebuilt after the 1895 fire.

[10] The disaster, which made national news, gave residents the resolve to establish the city's first fire department to ensure that such events would not recur in the future.

[citation needed] Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Carl Hubbell played for the Ardmore Bearcats in 1924, his first professional season.

The geology is highly variegated within the area, with uplifted and folded ridges visible within the shoreline of some of the lakes surrounding Ardmore.

Ardmore is the principal center of trade for a ten-county region in South Central Oklahoma, with a retail pull factor of 1.7–1.9.

Interstate 35 passes through the western side of Ardmore, as it traverses the United States from Duluth, Minnesota, to Laredo, Texas.

Ardmore is linked by rail with the DFW Airport via the Heartland Flyer to Trinity Railway Express connection.

Ardmore has one principal rail line,[24] that being one of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainlines running from Fort Worth, Texas to Oklahoma City (also connecting with Kansas City and Chicago), being the route of the current Heartland Flyer passenger rail service.

This line was formerly part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe rail network before the merger with Burlington Northern.

[25] The company has multiple parallel tracks (5+) running through central Ardmore (MP 450.5), added concomitantly with the rise of the trading status of the city and region throughout the early 1900s.

There is also a lightly used transverse rail spur from the BNSF line to the Michelin tire plant in west Ardmore, mainly intended for the transport of raw materials to the factory.

BNSF has given Site Certification to the Ameripointe Logistics Park in Ardmore, meaning the railroad has identified the location as an optimal rail-served site meeting ten economic development criteria, intended to minimize development risks customers may face.

[26] The historic Santa Fe depot in downtown Ardmore is also a stop on Amtrak's Heartland Flyer train route, with daily service to and from Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.

[27] Southern Oklahoma Rural Transportation System (SORTS) began operations in 1985, and offers full services to the four counties of Bryan, Carter, Coal and Love.