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Tulsa, Oklahoma
A brief history of the Tulsa area
Tulsa, the 2nd largest city in Oklahoma with a Metropolitan area population of over 887,000 and located in northeastern Oklahoma, a part of the state referred to as “Green Country” , has a strong and growing economy. In 2005 Tulsa was chosen as one of America’s Most Livable Cities.
Today many consider Tulsa to be the state’s cultural and art center with full-time opera and ballet companies [Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Ballet], and two world-renowned art museums [Philbrook Museum – established by oilman Waite Phillips and Gilcrease Museum – established by oilman Thomas Gilcrease].
What is now the city of Tulsa was first settled by the Ozark Bluff Dwellers.
The early history of the area can be traced to 1540’s with Coronado coming to Oklahoma from Mexico and French traders working in the area. Both the Spanish and the French claimed the area. France ceded all of the Louisiana Territory to Spain by Treaty of Paris in 1763. Spain ceded it back to France in 1800. The territory again changed hands, when in 1803 Napoleon ceded the area to the US in the Louisiana Purchase. Territorial boundary disputes continued until 1819 when Spain and the US agreed the Red River would constitute the ownership boundary between the two nations.
In 1819 Congress created “Arkansas Territory” which included what are now the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The area was rich for hunting and fishing and was well traveled by many Indian tribes. Indian settlement in the area continued and in 1832 President Jackson made a treaty with the Indians east of the Mississippi Rivers, resulting in the forced relocation of The Five Civilized Tribes – Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles: the "Trail of Tears". When Arkansas was admitted as a state in 1836, the area of Oklahoma became official Indian Territory.
In the 1820's US Government erected a fort in the new Indian Territory where Grand River, Verdigris River and the Arkansas River converged . This area was later known by the Creek Indians as “Three Forks”.
In 1834, the Lockapoka Creek Indians were relocated by the federal government from Alabama to Oklahoma Indian Territory. In 1836 they arrived in what is now Tulsa. Tulsa was named for a tribal town of the Lockapoka Indians. Among the earliest settlers was the Perryman family who arrived in 1828 living near Three Forks settlement.
Many of the Indian Tribes has Negro slaves, so they sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War.
In the late 1880's Congress was under pressur to open the Indian Territory for white settlement. 1889, Congress fianlly opened a section of Oklahoma for settlement under the “Land Run”.
In 1879, Tulsa's first post office opened and by 1882 Tulsa had a population of approximately 200.
In 1882 the railroad came to Tulsa. H.C. Hall, one of the contractors, opened a railroad company store near the tracks and is credited with founding Tulsa. The railroad and a bridge across the Arkansas River, led to Tulsa’s prominence as a “cow town” as ranchers across the territory brought herds to market.
In 1898 The Dawes Commission established a system for Native American to legally own land. Allotments of land were assigned to those who could verify their Native American ancestry.
Although significant oil was first discovered at Red Fork in 1901, Tulsa’s great oil boom began with the 1905-07 discoveries in the Glenn Pool fields which at one time was the world’s most productive commercial oil area. Oil spearheaded continued economic and cultural development.
In 1907, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were admitted to the union as one state – Oklahoma – to become the 46th state: Tulsa’s population at that time was about 7,000.
By 1919 Tulsa had a commercial airport.
By 1921 Tulsa had more than 400 different oil and gas companies, many oil field supply companies, tank manufacturers, pipe line companies, and refineries. Tulsa became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" and was a regional commercial center serving nearby farms and ranches. Many of Tulsa’s millionaires were young oil men who soon became the visionaries and leaders of the community.
Tulsa was also the home of a thriving and prosperous Black community and the area was internationally known as Black Wall Street for its economic leadership. The 1921 race riot destroyed the thriving area of the city.
By 1921, Tulsa had 4 different railroads -- the Frisco, the Santa Fe, the Katy, and the Midland Valley -- and 2 separate inter-urban train lines. Two daily newspapers kept readers informed.
The need for infrastructure continued and a water supply pipeline was built to bring water 55 miles from Spavinaw to Tulsa in 1924. The new availability of water allowed continued development of the city.
In 1970 the Tulsa Port of Catoosa was opened, giving Tulsa river navigation from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, spearheading continued economic development in eastern Oklahoma.
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