Tawakoni, Osage

Tawakoni Skyline (2019)

The railyard, a historic part of the city's growth.

**Tawakoni** is a city in the U.S. state of Osage. It is also the county seat of Tawakoni County. The area was first settled in 1841 but grew into and became Tawakoni in 1845. The camp was originally called "Cartier's Rest" but the town voted to change the name after a group of Tawakoni Native Americans assisted the settlers in bringing much needed supplies in the first winter. The city's population was 87,345 as of the 2018 population estimate.

The city is home of Osage University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Osage. The University offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees and is nationally accredited. Tawakoni also has the Pershing Science Center, a nationally acclaimed center for innovation. The Onondaga River Valley historical center is one of the best in the state and offers many services and events.

Several large regional companies are headquartered in the city such as Hember Timber Associates, Tawakoni Steel Company, RRW Transportation and B&O Grain Systems. The largest employers are Osage University, Osage University Hospital Center, The City of Tawakoni, RRW Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Bureau.

## Geography

Tawakoni is part of the south-eastern corner of Osage and was chosen due to its riverside location, although much of downtown was built around the railroad. The City lies in the Onondaga River Valley and featrues a slightly hilly landscape with many trees in the eastern areas. On the flat land outside of the city is mostly farmlands and small towns. The City is commonly divided into sections starting with Southside, Downtown, Northside. West Tawakoni is the newer half of the city with a surge in growth in the 50's and 60s up into the 90's.

## Etymology

Tawakoni gets it's name from the Tawakoni Native-American tribe of the same name. This name was agreed upon in a show of thanks by the settlers to the tribe that helped them get through the first tough winter.

## History

**The First Camp**

The area that became Tawakoni started in 1841 with the establishment of "Cartier's Rest" named after the group of traders' leader. John Cartier was a businessman, survivalist and renaissance man from Baltimore who set out in the summer of 1840 to explore the vast fur network out west. John recruited a company of men and set off on his journey.

The group consisted of 54 men, mostly from Baltimore. After a year the group had found a spot to camp, a small clearing in the woods near the Onondaga River. By then it was November and the group had yet to gather enough food for the long winter and barely had shelter set up. Thankfully a local group of Tawakoni Indians helped the town by providing much needed supplies and furs. In return the settlers offered to support the Indians from rival tribes.

**Early Growth and African-American Settlement**

After the winter of 1842 the group voted to rename the town "Tawakoni" after the local tribe who had saved them. In the next three years the town group to be an important stop on the Onondaga river trail heading west and many people settled in the small trading village due to the recent declaration that each new settler in Tawakoni was guaranteed a plot of land and a horse for free. This offer also stood for free African-Americans as Osage was not a slave state. This led to a sizable African American population early on compared to other cities in the region.

**River Boomtown and Native-American Abandonment**

 Tawakoni enjoyed a period of rapid growth in the 1880's and 90's much to the dismay of the local tribe the city was named after. The Native-Americans were being pushed off their land more and more each year, their numbers had drastically declined and many left to find work elsewhere. The Native's were entirely gone by 1907 and many relatives are only returning to the area today.

Nevertheless; the city boomed and prospered. After the railroad connected the city in 1875 the city had incredible appeal to new citizens. The port of Tawakoni kept goods and transport flowing up and down the Onondaga and the railyard fortified the city's position as a major economic player in Osage.

The growth kept coming until a slight slow in the 1930's but overall the city stayed well below the national unemployment rate during the Great Depression.

**Post-WW2 Growth and Osage University Thrives**

 After WW2 the city saw a massive wave of development to the western plains and farmlands with many new housing developments and commercial areas being built. Tawakoni flourished in the post-war boom and saw a vast improvement and appeal to the local university: Osage University. A new wave of students caused new residence halls and apartments to be built around the campus area. A new grew around the university and campus area with students contributing to a blossoming economy.

**Racial Tensions**

 By the 1950's the African American population numbered 15,000 people. That number was quite large for a city of only 75,000 people. The African American population had largely settled on the north side of the city and was segregating along Arlington Avenue, a divide which still manifests today. Several riots broke out, one at city hall in 1951, and two more in 1952 and another 1953.

Tawakoni had always had racist laws and covenants in place to keep the African American population out of south Tawakoni. Black residents were not allowed to live in a neighboorhood if it was 75% of one race and many residents had their houses burned for supporting African Americans. It was only in the 1970's and 1980's did Tawakoni become more ethnically diverse with white-flight to the suburbs. By then, northside had drastically deteriorated and now is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the city.

**Downtown Revival**

 By 1990, downtown Tawakoni had taken a beating. Several downtown buildings were abandoned or destroyed. Several floods had damaged many railyard buildings. The railyard itself was a haven for criminals and the homeless. In 1990, Mayor Limby approved the Downtown Reconstruction Plan to invest 3.2 billion dollars into the downtown cityscape.

Abandoned buildings were torn down, parks were constructed, many warehouses were converted into loft apartments, trees were planted, rubble was removed. The project was completed in 2001 to massive praise by the public.

Although the project successfully cleaned up downtown, the act was responsible for demolishing many historical buildings in the downtown and railyard area.

## Economy

The Economy of Tawakoni has historically been focused in the manufacturing industry but has seen a large shift to the service and education industry in the 21st century. Several large regional companies are headquartered in the city such as Hember Timber Associates, Tawakoni Steel Company, RRW Transportation and B&O Grain Systems. The largest employers are Osage University, Osage University Hospital Center, The City of Tawakoni, RRW Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Bureau.

### **Top Employers**

According to Tawakoni's 2018 comprehensive annual financial report, the top employers in the city are:

## Transportation

Tawakoni is a major transportation hub, the Onondaga and Hopi river flow and meet at a crossroads on the southside of town. This unique circumstance led to the city being a riverboat hub and major port. The railroad junction also helped boost the town's growth in its early years.

The city is serviced by Interstate 98 and Highway 32 and provides transportation to the rest of the four-state area. Amtrak has a line to Tawakoni although its service is questionable.

The local bus line TABS (Tawakoni Area Bus System) has stops throughout the city and runs 24/7. Special lines service the Osage University campus only and provide commuter lots.

## City Inspiration (OOC)

Tawakoni was inspired by several cities and towns across the United States IRL. First, the city has always been a river city and started life much smaller in theory. Eventually I realized I wanted a larger city so I kept expanding and getting new inspiration. The initial cities I based it off of are:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscatine,\_Iowa
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux\_City,\_Iowa
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington,\_Iowa

As the city began to take a larger shape and grander vision, I expanded out from the midwest to include other cities such as:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington,\_West\_Virginia
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,\_West\_Virginia