Kaw City is a city in eastern Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 375 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1 percent from the figure of 372 in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Kaw City was named for the Kanza Indians, called ''the

Kaw Kaw or KAW may refer to: Mythology * Kaw (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology * Johnny Kaw, mythical settler of Kansas, US * Kaw (character), in ''The Chronicles of Prydain'' People * Kaw people, a Native American tribe Places * Kaw, Fr ...

'' by locals.

History

In 1902, the original Kaw City was founded, prior to Oklahoma statehood, as a farming community in the fertile oxbow bend of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

.Pittman, Annette. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Kaw City

/ref> Kaw City was across the river from the

Indian reservation and the Kaw Agency. By statehood in 1907, it had 486 inhabitants. Although the original town site is now inundated by the waters of

Kaw Lake Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City which is located on a hill overlooking the lake. The lake is approximately east of Ponca City. The dam was completed by the United St ...

, the old town was quite a busy place. It became a booming oil town in 1919, when 'black gold' was discovered in nearby Kay County and the present Osage Nation reservation. The population jumped from 627 in 1920 to 1,001 in 1930. It even had a very popular four-story hotel filled with one of the world's rarest art collections. Laura A. Clubb, owner of the collection and wife of a local rancher, later donated her collection to Philbrook Art Museum. The majority of the town was overcome by a (weather-related) flood in 1923, and then devastated again by the Great Depression. In the late 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed Kaw Dam on the

just south of the original Kaw City site. It then went underwater permanently in 1976, when the gates of the Kaw Dam closed and turned that particular area of the Arkansas River into

. Dave Morgan, a banker and oilman in nearby Blackwell, Oklahoma loaned the town the money it needed to move two miles to the west, up on a hill by the town's cemetery. The first house was built in the summer of 1969 and first mail delivery was on June 26, 1972. Many buildings in Kaw City, including the old Santa Fe Railroad Depot which is now the Kaw City Museum, were moved to the town's present location, on high ground near the lake. The Santa Fe Railroad Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The depot is one of only two listed structures that have been moved from their original locations elsewhere in Oklahoma, the other being Will Rogers Homestead near Claremore, which was also moved to make way for a lake. When the water in the lake is exceptionally low, some of the foundations of the old structures can still be seen just above the water. The Kaw City Cemetery (all headstones and the majority of the caskets) were also moved and given a separate section within Ponca City's IOOF cemetery, west of Conoco just south of Highway 60. The Kaw Indian cemetery located across the Arkansas river in Washunga was moved to

Newkirk, Oklahoma Newkirk is a city and county seat of Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. History Newkirk is on land known as the Cherokee Outlet (popularly called the "Cherokee Strip"), which belonged to the Chero ...

Geography

Kaw City is located on a peninsula extending into the

impoundment of the

. Washunga lies to the north across the lake.

Oklahoma State Highway 11 State Highway 11 (abbreviated SH-11) is a state highway in Oklahoma. It runs in an irregular west-to-east path across the northern part of the state, from U.S. Highway 281 (US-281) north of Alva to Interstate 244 (I-244) / US-412 in ...

passes through the community. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (51.26%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 372 people, 159 households, and 109 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 137.9 people per square mile (53.2/km²). There were 210 housing units at an average density of 77.8 per square mile (30.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.27%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 20.16% Native American, 0.54% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.08% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.23% of the population. There were 159 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 74.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,146, and the median income for a family was $31,042. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $17,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $15,091. About 9.3% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The Kaw City Museum is housed in the town’s 1902 train depot, and has exhibits relating to the history of the area. The Kanza Museum and Education Resource Center showcases tribal art and historical artifacts of the Kaw Nation. As to outdoor art, the Consultant of the SouthWind Statue is on the north side of SH-11, on the west side of Kaw Tribal headquarters; the Deer Jumping Fence Sculpture is on the south side of SH-11, near City Hall. The First United Methodist Church is known for its large stained glass windows, oil paintings, and a Kilgren Pipe Organ; available by appointment.

Government

The headquarters of the

Kaw Nation The Kaw Nation (or Kanza or Kansa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. It comes from the central Midwestern United States. It has also been called the "People of the South wind",

is located in Kaw City.

References

External links

Official Kaw Nation Website

Kaw Chamber of Commerce Website

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Kay County, Oklahoma Kaw tribe Oklahoma populated places on the Arkansas River