[2] The county was named for Captain Ben W. Carter, a Cherokee who lived among the Chickasaw.

The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (controlled by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, AT&SF) built a line north from Texas to Purcell.

In 1913–14, the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway constructed a line from Ardmore west to Ringling.

The Healdton field opened in 1913, and led to the development of Ardmore as a major oil production center.

However, a disastrous fire occurred in Ardmore in 1915, when a railroad car exploded, killing 43 people and destroying much of the downtown.

Ardmore and the local oil industry recovered, and the city also became a manufacturing center.

Akron Tire and Rubber Company built and operated a plant in Ardmore as early as 1915.

[7] This was followed by deposition of the Healdton sandstones and shales on pre-Pennsylvanian eroded rocks and subsequent folding during the Arbuckle Orogeny.

Per 2021 census estimates, the county's median household income was $52,906 and it had a poverty rate of 14.2%.