Tulsa (County)

*Not to be confused with Tulsa (City)*

**Tulsa County** is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States Census|2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County, Oklahoma|Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, Oklahoma|Tulsa, the second-largest city in the state. Founded at statehood, in 1907, it was named after the previously established city of Tulsa. Before statehood, the area was part of both the Creek Nation and the Cooweescoowee District of Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory.

Tulsa County is included in the Tulsa metropolitan area|Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Tulsa County is notable for being the most densely populated county in the state. Tulsa County also ranks as having the highest income.

## History

The history of Tulsa County greatly overlaps the History of Tulsa|history of the city of Tulsa. This section addresses events that largely occurred outside the present city limits of Tulsa.

### Lasley Vore Site

The Lasley Vore Site, along the Arkansas River south of Tulsa, was claimed by University of Tulsa anthropologist George Odell to be the most likely place where Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe first encountered a group of Wichita people in 1719. Odell's statement was based on finding both Wichita and French artifacts there during an architectural dig in 1988.

### Old Fort Arbuckle

The U. S. Government's removal of Native American tribes from the southeastern United States to "Indian Territory" did not take into account how that would impact the lives and attitudes of the nomadic tribes that already used the same land as their hunting grounds. At first, Creek immigrants stayed close to Fort Gibson, near the confluence of the Arkansas River|Arkansas and Verdigris River|Verdigris rivers. However, the government encouraged newer immigrants to move farther up the Arkansas. The Osage Nation|Osage tribe had agreed to leave the land near the Verdigris, but had not moved far and soon threatened the new Creek settlements.

In 1831, a party led by Rev. Isaac McCoy and Lt. James L. Dawson blazed a trail up the north side of the Arkansas from Fort Gibson to its junction with the Cimarron River (Arkansas River)|Cimarron River. In 1832, Dawson was sent again to select sites for military posts. One of his recommended sites was about two and a half miles downstream from the Cimarron River junction. The following year, Brevet (military)|Brevet Major George Birch and two companies of the 7th Infantry Regiment followed the "Dawson Road" to the aforementioned site. Flattering his former commanding officer, General Matthew Arbuckle, Birch named the site "Fort Arbuckle."

According to *Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture*, the fort was about Template:Convert west of the present city of Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Author James Gardner visited the site in the early 1930s. His article describing the visit includes an old map showing the fort located on the north bank of the Arkansas River near Sand Creek, just south of the line separating Tulsa County and Osage County, Oklahoma|Osage County. After ground was cleared and a blockhouse built, Fort Arbuckle was abandoned November 11, 1834. The remnants of stockade and some chimneys could still be seen nearly a hundred years later. The site was submerged when Keystone Lake was built.

### Battle of Chusto-Talasah

Main article Battle of Chusto-Talasah

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, many Creeks and Seminoles in Indian Territory, led by Opothleyahola, retained their allegiance to the U. S. Government. In November, 1861, Confederate Col. Douglas H. Cooper led a Confederate force against the Union supporters with the purpose of either compelling their submission or driving them out of the country. The first clash, known as the Battle of Round Mountain, occurred November 19, 1861. Although the Unionists successfully withstood the attack and mounted a counterattack, the Confederates claimed a strategic victory because the Unionists were forced to withdraw.

The next battle occurred December 9, 1861. Col. Cooper's force attacked the Unionists at Chusto-Talasah (Caving Banks) on the Horseshoe Bend of Bird Creek in what is now Tulsa County. The Confederates drove the Unionists across Bird Creek, but could not pursue, because they were short of ammunition. Still, the Confederates could claim victory.

### Coming of the railroads

The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad had extended its main line in Indian Territory from Vinita, Oklahoma|Vinita to Tulsa in 1883, where it stopped on the east side of the Arkansas River. The company, which later merged into the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (familiarly known as the **Frisco**), then built a steel bridge across the river to extend the line to Red Fork, Oklahoma|Red Fork. This bridge allowed cattlemen to load their animals onto the railroad west of the Arkansas instead of fording the river, as had been the practice previously. It also provided a safer and more convenient way to bring workers from Tulsa to the oil field after the 1901 discovery of oil in Red Fork.

### Oil Boom

A wildcat well named Sue Bland No. 1 hit paydirt at 540 feet on June 25, 1901, as a Blowout (well drilling)|gusher. The well was on the property of Sue A. Bland (née Davis), located near the community of Red Fork, Oklahoma|Red Fork. Mrs. Bland was a Creek citizen and wife of Dr. John C. W. Bland, the first practicing physician in Tulsa. The property was Mrs. Bland's homestead allotment. Oil produced by the well was shipped in barrels to the nearest refinery in Kansas, where it was sold for $1.00 a barrel.

Other producing wells followed soon after. The next big strike in Tulsa County was in the vicinity of Glenn Pool.

Ironically, while the city of Tulsa claimed to be "Oil Capital of the World" for much of the 20th century, a city ordinance banned drilling for oil within the city limits.

### Tulsa County Court House

In 1911–1912, Tulsa County built a court house in Tulsa on the northeast corner of Sixth Street and South Boulder Avenue. Yule marble was used in its construction. The land had previously been the site of a mansion owned by George Perryman and his wife. This was the court house where a mob of white residents gathered on May 31, 1921, threatening to lynch a young black man held in the top-floor jail. It was the beginning of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

An advertisement for bids specified that the building should be fireproof, built of either reinforced concrete or steel and concrete. The size was to be Template:Convert by Template:Convert with three floors and a full basement. Cost of the building was not to exceed $200,000. The jail on the top floor was not to exceed $25,000.

The building continued to serve until the present court house building (shown above) opened at 515 South Denver. The old building was then demolished and the land was sold to private investors. The land is now the site of the Bank of America Center (Tulsa)|Bank of America building, completed in 1967.

### 1921 race riot

Main article: Tulsa race riot

## Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (2.9%) is water.

The Arkansas River drains most of the county. Keystone Lake, formed by a dam on the Arkansas River, lies partially in the county. Bird Creek and the Caney River, tributaries of the Verdigris River drain the northern part of the county.

### Adjacent counties

* Washington County, Oklahoma|Washington County (north)
* Rogers County, Oklahoma|Rogers County (northeast)
* Wagoner County, Oklahoma|Wagoner County (southeast)
* Okmulgee County, Oklahoma|Okmulgee County (south)
* Creek County, Oklahoma|Creek County (west)
* Pawnee County, Oklahoma|Pawnee County (northwest)
* Osage County, Oklahoma|Osage County (northwest)

### Major highways

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* Image:I-44 (OK).svg|20px Interstate 44 in Oklahoma|Interstate 44
* Image:I-244 (OK).svg|20px Interstate 244
* Image:I-444 (OK).svg|20px Interstate 444
* Image:US 64.svg|20px U.S. Route 64 in Oklahoma|U.S. Route 64
* Image:US 66 (historic).svg|20px U.S. Route 66 in Oklahoma|U.S. Historic Route 66
* Image:US 75.svg|20px U.S. Route 75 in Oklahoma|U.S. Route 75
* Image:US 169.svg|20px U.S. Route 169#Oklahoma|U.S. Route 169
* Image:US 412.svg|20px U.S. Route 412#Oklahoma|U.S. Route 412
* Image:Creek Turnpike.svg|20px Creek Turnpike
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 11.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 11
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 12.svg|20px Former Oklahoma State Highway 12
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 20.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 20
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 51.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 51
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 67.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 67
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 97.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 97
* Image:Ellipse sign 97T.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 97T
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 117.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 117
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 151.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 151
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 266.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 266
* Image:Oklahoma State Highway 364.svg|20px Oklahoma State Highway 364
* Gilcrease Expressway
* L.L. Tisdale Parkway

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## Demographics

There were 241,737 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were Marriage|married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,005, and the median income for a family was $60,093. The per capita income for the county was $27,425. About 11.0% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. Of the county's population over the age of 25, 29.2% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 88.2% have a high school diploma or equivalent.

## Politics

Tulsa County is very conservative for an urban county; it has voted Republican at every election since Franklin Roosevelt’s landslide 1936 United States presidential election|in 1936. The county's Republican bent predates Oklahoma's swing toward the GOP. As a measure of how Republican the county is, Barry Goldwater won the county by 11 points even as Lyndon Johnson became the last Democrat to date to carry Oklahoma.

Only George H. W. Bush in 1992 has obtained less than a majority for the Republicans in the county since Roosevelt’s landslides, and then only because of Ross Perot’s strong candidacy – although neither Perot nor George Wallace in 1968 made as much impact here as both did in some other parts of Oklahoma. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to win more than 40% of the vote in Tulsa County, and only the second to do so since 1948. It is one of only two counties, alongside Oklahoma County, where Biden outperformed Southerner Jimmy Carter's margin as he narrowly lost the state in 1976.

The city of Tulsa proper is a swing city, after voting for Donald Trump in 2016 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|2016 by four points swung to a six-point Joe Biden win in 2020, and also backed Drew Edmondson for Governor in 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election|2018 by 13 points. The suburbs, however, remain very strongly Republican.

In February 2020, registered Republicans were reduced from a majority to a plurality in the county's voter registration.

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## Parks and recreation

**River Parks** was established in 1974 as a joint operation of the City of Tulsa and Tulsa County, with funding from both governments as well as private entities. It is not a part of the Tulsa parks and recreation|Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department, but is managed by the **River Parks Authority**. It is a series of linear parks that run adjacent to the Arkansas River for about Template:Convert from downtown to the Jenks bridge. Since 2007 a significant portion of the River Parks area has been renovated with new trails, landscaping and playground equipment. The **River Parks Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area** on the west side of the Arkansas River in south Tulsa is a Template:Convert area that contains over Template:Convert of dirt trails available for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and horseback riding. The "Tulsa Townies" organization provide bicycles that may be checked out for use. There are three kiosks in the parks where bicycles may be obtained or returned.

## Communities

### Cities

Template:Div col

* Bixby (part)
* Broken Arrow (part)
* Collinsville
* Glenpool
* Jenks
* Owasso (part)
* Sand Springs (part)
* Sapulpa (part)
* Tulsa (county seat) (part)

Template:Div col end

### Towns

* Liberty (part)
* Lotsee
* Skiatook (part)
* Sperry

### Census-designated places

* Oakhurst, Oklahoma|Oakhurst
* Turley, Oklahoma|Turley

### Unincorporated communities

* Berryhill, Oklahoma|Berryhill
* Garnett, Oklahoma|Garnett
* Leonard, Oklahoma|Leonard
* Lake, Oklahoma|Lake
* Mingo, Oklahoma|Mingo

### Former communities

* Alsuma - Annexed by Tulsa in 1968.
* Carbondale, Oklahoma|Carbondale - Annexed by Tulsa in 1928.
* Dawson, Oklahoma|Dawson - Annexed by Tulsa in 1949.
* Keystone, Oklahoma - Submerged by Keystone Lake, whose construction began in 1958.
* North Tulsa - Annexed by Tulsa in 1904.
* Prattville, Oklahoma|Prattville - Annexed by Sand Springs in 1965.
* Red Fork, Oklahoma|Red Fork - Annexed by Tulsa in 1927.
* South Haven, Oklahoma|South Haven - Annexed by Tulsa in 1966.

## Education

School districts include:

* Berryhill Public Schools
* Bixby Public Schools
* Broken Arrow Public Schools
* Collinsville Public Schools
* Glenpool Public Schools
* Jenks Public Schools
* Liberty Public Schools
* Owasso Public Schools
* Charles Page High School|Sand Springs Public Schools
* Skiatook Public Schools
* Sperry Public Schools
* Tulsa Public Schools
* Union Public Schools
* Keystone Public School (elementary only)

## NRHP sites

Main article: National Register of Historic Places listings in Tulsa County, Oklahoma
The following sites in Tulsa County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
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* 66 Motel, Tulsa
* Ambassador Hotel (Tulsa, Oklahoma)|Ambassador Hotel, Tulsa
* Bishop Kelley High School
* Boston Avenue Methodist Church|Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Tulsa
* Boulder-on-the-Park, Tulsa
* Brady Heights Historic District, Tulsa
* Broken Arrow Elementary--Junior High School, Broken Arrow
* Cain's Ballroom|Cain's Dancing Academy, Tulsa
* The Church Studio, Tulsa
* Circle Theater (Tulsa, Oklahoma)|Circle Theater, Tulsa
* Clinton-Hardy House, Tulsa
* Brady Theater|Tulsa Convention Hall, Tulsa
* Cosden Building, Tulsa
* Creek Council Oak Tree, Tulsa
* Dawson School, Tulsa
* Carl K. Dresser House, Tulsa
* 11th Street Bridge (Tulsa)|Eleventh Street Arkansas River Bridge, Tulsa
* Fort Arbuckle Site (Sand Springs, Oklahoma)|Fort Arbuckle Site, Sand Springs
* Gillette (Tulsa)|Gillette Historic District, Tulsa
* Pythian Building|Gillette-Tyrell Building, Tulsa (Later named the Pythian Building)
* Harwelden Mansion, Tulsa
* Haskell State School of Agriculture, Broken Arrow
* Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa|Holy Family Cathedral, Rectory, and School, Tulsa
* Hooper Brothers Coffee Company Building, Tulsa
* Robert Lawton Jones House, Tulsa
* Maple Ridge (Tulsa)|Maple Ridge Historic Residential District, Tulsa
* Mayo Building (Tulsa, Oklahoma)|Mayo Building, Tulsa
* Mayo Hotel, Tulsa
* Mayo Motor Inn
* James H. McBirney House, Tulsa
* McFarlin Building, Tulsa
* Robert M. McFarlin House, Tulsa
* B. W. McLean House and Office, Jenks
* Mincks-Adams Hotel, Tulsa
* Moore Manor, Tulsa
* Mount Zion Baptist Church (Tulsa)|Mount Zion Baptist Church, Tulsa
* North Cheyenne Historic District, Tulsa
* Oil Capital of the World#Oil Capital of the World Historic District|Oil Capital of the World Historic District
* Oklahoma Natural Gas Company Building, Tulsa
* Owen Park|Owen Park Historic District, Tulsa
* Page Memorial Library, Sand Springs
* Foster B. Parriott House, Tulsa
* Petroleum Building, Tulsa
* Philcade Building, Tulsa
* Phillips 66 Station 473, Tulsa
* Philbrook Museum of Art|Waite Phillips Mansion (now Philbrook Museum), Tulsa
* Philtower, Tulsa
* Pierce Block, Tulsa
* Public Service of Oklahoma Building, Tulsa
* Ranch Acres Historic District (Tulsa)|Ranch Acres Historic Residential District, Tulsa
* Riverside Historic Residential District, Tulsa
* Riverside Studio, Tulsa
* Sand Springs Power Plant, Sand Springs
* Sinclair Service Station (Tulsa, Oklahoma)|Sinclair Service Station, Tulsa
* William G. Skelly House, Tulsa
* Southwestern Bell Main Dial Building, Tulsa
* St. John Vianney Training School for Girls, Tulsa
* Swan Lake (Tulsa)|Swan Lake Historic District, Tulsa
* Tracy Park Historic District (Tulsa)|Tracy Park Historic District
* Tulsa Tribune#Tribune Building|Tribune Building, Tulsa
* Tulsa Fire Alarm Building, Tulsa
* Government of Tulsa, Oklahoma#City Hall|Tulsa Municipal Building, Tulsa
* United States Post Office and Courthouse (Tulsa, Oklahoma)|United States Post Office and Courthouse, Tulsa
* James Alexander Veasey House, Tulsa
* Vickery Phillips 66 Station, Tulsa
* Westhope, Tulsa
* White City (Tulsa)|White City Historic District, Tulsa
* Woodward Park (Tulsa)|Woodward Park and Gardens Historic District
* Yorktown (Tulsa)|Yorktown Historic District, Tulsa

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## See also

Template:Commons category

* Lasley Vore Site
* Yule marble

## External links

* Tulsa County Government's website
* Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

Template:Geographic location

Template:Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Template:Tulsa metro
Template:Oklahoma

Template:Coord

Template:Authority control

Category:1907 establishments in Oklahoma
Category:Populated places established in 1907
Category:Tulsa metropolitan area

1. ↑ State & County QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau.
2. ↑ Find a County. National Association of Counties.
3. ↑ Per capita income in Tulsa County highest in state | Tulsa World
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Carter, Sandi and Marlene Clark. "Old Fort Arbuckle." Accessed April 10, 2011.[2]
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gardner, James E. *Chronicles of Oklahoma*, Volume 11, No. 2. June, 1933. "One Hundred Years Ago in the Region of Tulsa."
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 O"Dell, Larry. "Tulsa County," *Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture*, Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Civil War Academy.com Website. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
8. ↑ Clinton, Fred S. "First Oil and Gas Well in Tulsa County," *Chronicles of Oklahoma*, p. 312-332. Accessed April 5, 2015.
9. ↑ "Sketches for Court House and County Jail." *The American Contractor*. Accessed July 15, 2015.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Ellsworth, Scott. The Tulsa Race Riot. Tulsa Reparations.
11. ↑ Ellsworth, Scott (2009). Tulsa Race Riot.
12. ↑ Template:Cite news
13. ↑ 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau (August 22, 2012).
14. ↑ U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau.
15. ↑ American FactFinder – Results
16. ↑ American FactFinder – Results
17. ↑ American FactFinder – Results
18. ↑ Tulsa County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.
19. ↑ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; *America Magazine* in *The National Catholic Review*; June 29, 2016
20. ↑ Template:Cite news
21. ↑ Precinct-by-precinct result maps: How Oklahomans voted on president, state questions, U.S. Senate (en).
22. ↑ 2018 November General Election (en).
23. ↑ 2020 November General Election (en).
24. ↑ July 2020 Month End Registration Statistics by County (July 31, 2020).
25. ↑ Template:Cite news
26. ↑ "About the Park." River Parks Authority. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
27. ↑ Tulsa Townies. "How it works." Retrieved November 30, 2014.
28. ↑ Alsuma website. Retrieved September 30, 2011
29. ↑ "Alsuma: The Town That Disappeared From Southeast Tulsa." Template:Webarchive Arnett, David. GTR Newspapers. March 30, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Breed, David M., with early drafting and initial research by Kent Schell. "Appendix D: Early History of Southwest Tulsa" Southwest Tulsa Planning Team, Southwest Tulsa Historical Society and Tulsa Planning Department. p. 111. Accessed April 5, 2015.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Tulsa City Council. *A History of Tulsa Annexation.* 2004. Accessed April 5, 2015.
32. ↑ Tulsa Preservation Commission. "Urban Development {1901–1945) Accessed May 5, 2011.[3]>
33. ↑ Gregory, Carl N. "Sand Springs," *Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture*, Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015.
34. ↑ 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tulsa County, OK. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 21, 2022. - Text list