Tulsa County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only

Oklahoma County Oklahoma County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,633, making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital and largest ci ...

. Its county seat and largest city is

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, 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 The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

and the Cooweescoowee District of

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

. Tulsa County is included in the 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 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 The Lasley Vore Site is an archaeological site near the Arkansas River in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Based on an archeological study in 1988 conducted by the University of Tulsa, this is believed to be the remains of a Wichita people, Wichita village ...

, along 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 ...

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 Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe (4 February 1683 in Saint-Malo – 26 September 1765) was a French explorer who is credited with the discovery of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the first known French explorer to set foot in the future state of Ok ...

first encountered a group of

Wichita people The Wichita people or Kitikiti'sh are a confederation of Southern Plains Native American tribes. Historically they spoke the Wichita language and Kichai language, both Caddoan languages. They are indigenous to Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. Tod ...

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 "

" 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 Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any othe ...

, near the confluence of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and

Verdigris Verdigris is the common name for blue-green, copper-based pigments that form a patina on copper, bronze, and brass. The technical literature is ambiguous as to its chemical composition. Some sources refer to "neutral verdigris" as copper(II) ac ...

rivers. However, the government encouraged newer immigrants to move farther up the Arkansas. The Osage tribe had agreed to leave the land near the Verdigris, but had not moved far and soon threatened the new Creek settlements.Carter, Sandi and Marlene Clark. "Old Fort Arbuckle." Accessed April 10, 201

/ref> In 1831, a party led by Rev.

Isaac McCoy Isaac McCoy (June 13, 1784 – June 21, 1846) was a Baptist missionary among the Native Americans in what is now Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Kansas. He was an advocate of Indian removal from the eastern United States, proposing an Indian ...

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. 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 Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

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 Matthew Arbuckle (1778–1851) was a career soldier in the US Army closely identified with the Indian Territory for the last thirty years of his life. Biography Early life He was born 28 December 1778 in Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Vir ...

, Birch named the site "Fort Arbuckle."Gardner, James E. ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'', Volume 11, No. 2. June, 1933. "One Hundred Years Ago in the Region of Tulsa." According to ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the fort was about west of the present city of

Sand Springs, Oklahoma Sand Springs is a city in Osage, Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A western suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 19,874 in the 2020 U. S. Census, an increase of 5.1 percent fro ...

.O"Dell, Larry
"Tulsa County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015. 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. 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 Keystone Lake is a reservoir in northeastern Oklahoma on the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers. It is located upstream about from Tulsa. It was created in 1968 when the Keystone Dam was completed. The primary purposes are: flood control, hydroelect ...

was built.

Battle of Chusto-Talasah

Main article

Battle of Chusto-Talasah The Battle of Chusto-Talasah, also known as Bird Creek, Caving Banks, and High Shoal, was fought December 9, 1861, in what is now Tulsa County, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory) during the American Civil War. It was the second of three battles ...

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, many Creeks and Seminoles in Indian Territory, led by

Opothleyahola Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, Hopoeitheyohola, and Hopere Yahvlv (c. 1778 – March 22, 1863) was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a Speaker of the Upper Cre ...

, 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 The Battle of Round Mountain was the first battle in the Trail of Blood on Ice campaign for the control of Indian Territory during the American Civil War that occurred on November 19, 1861. Its main purpose was to prevent Union supporters of t ...

, 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.Civil War Academy.com Website. Retrieved April 11, 2011. 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 The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...

had extended its main line in Indian Territory from 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. 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 gusher. The well was on the property of Sue A. Bland (née Davis), located near the community of 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 The discovery of the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in 1905 brought the first major oil pipelines into Oklahoma, and instigated the first large scale oil boom in the state. Located near what was—at the time—the small town of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the r ...

. 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 Yule Marble is a marble of metamorphosed Leadville Limestone found only in the Yule Creek Valley, in the West Elk Mountains of Colorado, southeast of the town of Marble, Colorado.Marble Quadrangle, Colorado; USGS 7.5-minute series topograp ...

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 The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

. 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 by 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 building, completed in 1967.

1921 race riot

In the early 20th century, Tulsa was home to the " Black Wall Street", one of the most prosperous Black communities in the United States at the time. Located in the Greenwood neighborhood, it was the site of the

, said to be "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history", in which mobs of white Tulsans killed black Tulsans, looted and robbed the black community, and burned down homes and businesses. Sixteen hours of massacring on May 31 and June 1, 1921, ended only when National Guardsmen were brought in by the Governor. An official report later claimed that 23 Black and 16 white citizens were killed, but other estimates suggest as many as 300 people died, most of them Black. Over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, and an estimated 1000 Black people were left homeless as 35 city blocks, composed of 1,256 residences, were destroyed by fire. Property damage was estimated at . Efforts to obtain reparations for survivors of the violence have been unsuccessful, but the events were re-examined by the city and state in the early 21st century, acknowledging the terrible actions that had taken place.

Geography and climate

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water. The

drains most of the county.

, formed by a dam on the Arkansas River, lies partially in the county. Bird Creek and the

Caney River The Caney River (Lenape: Kènii Sipu ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 river in southern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. The river is a tributary of ...

, tributaries of the

Verdigris River The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

drain the northern part of the county.

Adjacent counties

* Washington County (north) *

Rogers County Rogers County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,240, making it the sixth-most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Claremore. Rogers County is included i ...

(northeast) * Wagoner County (southeast) *

Okmulgee County Okmulgee County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,069. The county seat is Okmulgee. Located within the Muscogee Nation Reservation, the county was created at statehood in 1907. The name O ...

(south) *

Creek County Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 69,967. Its county seat is Sapulpa. Creek County is part of the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area. History European explorers tr ...

(west) * Pawnee County (northwest) * Osage County (northwest)

Major highways

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

Interstate 244 Interstate 244 (I-244), also known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Expressway (in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.) since 1984, the Crosstown Expressway, and the Red Fork Expressway, is a east–west Interstate Highway bypass route ...

Interstate 444 Interstate 444 (I-444) is an unsigned auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System, with both ends at I-244 in downtown Tulsa in the US state of Oklahoma. It makes up the eastern and southern sections on the square-shaped Inner Dispers ...

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

* U.S. Historic Route 66 *

U.S. Route 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canada–United States border, Canadian border, wh ...

U.S. Route 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–south ...

* U.S. Route 412 *

Creek Turnpike The Creek Turnpike, also designated State Highway 364 (SH-364), is a freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The turnpike forms a partial beltway around the south and east sides of Tulsa, Oklahoma's secon ...

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 ...

* Former Oklahoma State Highway 12 *

Oklahoma State Highway 20 State Highway 20 (abbreviated SH-20) is a highway in northeastern Oklahoma. Its eastern terminus is at the corner of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri near Southwest City, Missouri; its western terminus is at State Highway 18 near Ralston. The ...

Oklahoma State Highway 51 State Highway 51, abbreviated to SH-51 or OK-51, is a major state highway in Oklahoma, United States. It runs for east–west across the state, running from the Texas state line to Arkansas. It is the third-longest state highway in the syst ...

Oklahoma State Highway 67 State Highway 67, abbreviated as SH-67, is a highway on the south side of Tulsa. It begins in the west at U.S. Route 75 Alternate in Kiefer and runs east along 151st St. South before ending at US-64 in Bixby. Along the way it crosses US-75 i ...

* Oklahoma State Highway 97 * Oklahoma State Highway 97T * Oklahoma State Highway 117 * Oklahoma State Highway 151 * Oklahoma State Highway 266 * Oklahoma State Highway 364 *

Gilcrease Expressway The Gilcrease Expressway is a highway in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the county's long-term plan to complete an outer highway loop around Tulsa's central business district. The highway will connect Interstate 44 (I-44) in ...

* L.L. Tisdale Parkway

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 incl ...

o
2010
there were 603,403 people, 241,737 households, and 154,084 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 1,059 people per square mile (409/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.2%

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 on ...

, 10.7%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 6.0% Native American, 2.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 5.8% 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 5.8% from two or more races. 11.0% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 (8.8% Mexican). 14.2% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 12.3%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 8.8%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 8.5%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 2.3% French, and 2.3% Scottish ancestries. 88.3% spoke

, 8.1%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, and 0.4%

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

as their first language. There were 241,737 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 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 county was $27,425. About 11.0% of families and 15.1% 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 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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

’s landslide 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 Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

won the county by 11 points even as

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

became the last Democrat to date to carry Oklahoma. Only

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

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 Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

’s strong candidacy – although neither Perot nor

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

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 James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

's margin as he narrowly lost the state in 1976. The city of Tulsa proper is a swing city, after voting for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

by four points swung to a six-point Joe Biden win in 2020, and also backed

Drew Edmondson William Andrew Edmondson (born October 12, 1946), known as Drew Edmondson, is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Edmondson served as the 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 t ...

for Governor in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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.

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 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 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 area that contains over 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

* Bixby (part) * Broken Arrow (part) * Collinsville * Glenpool * Jenks * Owasso (part) * Sand Springs (part) *

Sapulpa Sapulpa is a city in Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 20,544 at the 2010 United States census, compared to 19,166 at the 2000 census. The population as of 2022 is 22,205. As of 2019, the estimated popul ...

(part) * Skiatook (part) *

(county seat) (part)

Towns

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

(part) * Lotsee *

Sperry Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: *Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County *Sperry, Missouri *Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County *Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana *Sperry Glacier, ...

Census-designated places

* Oakhurst * Turley

Unincorporated communities

* Berryhill * Garnett *

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Mingo The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, and ...

Former communities

* Alsuma - Annexed by Tulsa in 1968."Alsuma: The Town That Disappeared From Southeast Tulsa."
Arnett, David. GTR Newspapers. March 30, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2014. * Carbondale - Annexed by Tulsa in 1928.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. * Dawson - Annexed by Tulsa in 1949.Tulsa City Council
''A History of Tulsa Annexation.''
2004. Accessed April 5, 2015. * Keystone, Oklahoma - Submerged by

, whose construction began in 1958. * North Tulsa - Annexed by Tulsa in 1904. * Prattville - Annexed by Sand Springs in 1965.Gregory, Carl N
"Sand Springs,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015. * Red Fork - Annexed by Tulsa in 1927. * South Haven - Annexed by Tulsa in 1966.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Berryhill Public Schools * Bixby Public Schools * Broken Arrow Public Schools * Collinsville Public Schools * Glenpool Public Schools *

Jenks Public Schools ''Jenks Public Schools is a PreK-12 public school system located in Jenks, Oklahoma. Located just south of Tulsa, Jenks Public Schools now encompasses over 40 square miles and serves more than 12,000 students at its ten school sites. It is th ...

Liberty Public Schools Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

* Owasso Public Schools * Sand Springs Public Schools * Skiatook Public Schools * Sperry Public Schools *

Tulsa Public Schools Tulsa Public Schools is an independent school district serving the Tulsa, Oklahoma area in Northeastern Oklahoma. As of 2022, it is the largest school district in Oklahoma, surpassing Oklahoma City Public Schools for the first time since 2013. A ...

Union Public Schools Union Public Schools is a public school district located in southeast Tulsa, and northwest Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The school district is the eighth-largest in Oklahoma. Union is notable among school districts in the area because Union does not e ...

* Keystone Public School (elementary only)

NRHP sites

The following sites in Tulsa County are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

: * 66 Motel, Tulsa * Ambassador Hotel, Tulsa *

Bishop Kelley High School Bishop Kelley High School is an American Lasallian Catholic high school with 905 students, grades 9 to 12, located at 41st and Hudson Avenue, in the center of the Tulsa metropolitan area (in the Midtown area), on a campus spanning just over 47 ...

* 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 Dancing Academy, Tulsa *

The Church Studio The Church Studio is a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma established in 1972 by musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. Located in a converted church building, the studio has since been cited as being the heart of the Tulsa Sound. H ...

, Tulsa * Circle Theater, Tulsa * Clinton-Hardy House, Tulsa * Tulsa Convention Hall, Tulsa * Cosden Building, Tulsa * Creek Council Oak Tree, Tulsa *

Dawson School Dawson School is a historic school building located in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the intersection of East Ute Place and North Kingston Place. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. This two-room sandstone building was built i ...

, Tulsa * Carl K. Dresser House, Tulsa * Eleventh Street Arkansas River Bridge, Tulsa * Fort Arbuckle Site, Sand Springs * Gillette Historic District, Tulsa * Gillette-Tyrell Building, Tulsa (Later named the Pythian Building) * Harwelden Mansion, Tulsa *

Haskell State School of Agriculture Haskell () is a general-purpose, statically-typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation. Designed for teaching, research and industrial applications, Haskell has pioneered a number of programming lang ...

, Broken Arrow * Holy Family Cathedral, Rectory, and School, Tulsa * Hooper Brothers Coffee Company Building, Tulsa * Robert Lawton Jones House, Tulsa * Maple Ridge Historic Residential District, Tulsa * Mayo Building, Tulsa *

Mayo Hotel The Mayo Hotel is a historic hotel opened in 1925, located at 115 West 5th Street in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. History Early years The Mayo Hotel was built in 1925, designed by architect George Winkler, and financed by John D. and Cass A. Mayo.R ...

, Tulsa * Mayo Motor Inn * James H. McBirney House, Tulsa *

McFarlin Building The McFarlin Building is a general office building located on the northeast corner of Fifth Street and Main (Bartlett Square) in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The five-story building was built in 1918 by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett for oilman Robert M. ...

, 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 * North Cheyenne Historic District, Tulsa * Oil Capital of the World Historic District * Oklahoma Natural Gas Company Building, Tulsa * Owen Park Historic District, Tulsa * Page Memorial Library, Sand Springs * Foster B. Parriott House, Tulsa *

Petroleum Building The Petroleum Building is a 50-meter/10-floor building at 420 South Boulder in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was built in 1921, and is a steel and reinforced concrete structure faced with buff brick. The name was given because most of the early tenants we ...

, Tulsa *

Philcade Building The Philcade Building is an office building in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma at the southeast corner of East 5th Street and South Boston Avenue. Designed by Leon B. Senter, for oilman Waite Phillips, it was begun in 1929 and completed in 1931. It is ...

, Tulsa * Phillips 66 Station 473, Tulsa * Waite Phillips Mansion (now Philbrook Museum), Tulsa *

Philtower The Philtower Building is a historic building located at 427 South Boston Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Description and history Completed in 1928, it was designed by Edward Buehler Delk and financed by renowned oilman and dedicated philanthropist ...

, Tulsa *

Pierce Block The Pierce Block is a historic building in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma on the northeast corner of Third Street and Detroit Avenue, that was constructed as a hotel in 1909. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, it is the oldest remaining pos ...

, Tulsa * Public Service of Oklahoma Building, Tulsa * Ranch Acres Historic Residential District, Tulsa * Riverside Historic Residential District, Tulsa *

Riverside Studio The Riverside Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, also known as Tulsa Spotlight Club or Spotlight Theatre, was built in 1928. It was designed by architect Bruce Goff in International Style. It was built as a house with a studio wing for ...

, Tulsa * Sand Springs Power Plant, Sand Springs * 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 Historic District, Tulsa * Tracy Park Historic District * Tribune Building, Tulsa * Tulsa Fire Alarm Building, Tulsa *

Tulsa Municipal Building Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, Tulsa * United States Post Office and Courthouse, Tulsa * James Alexander Veasey House, Tulsa * Vickery Phillips 66 Station, Tulsa *

Westhope Westhope, also known as the Richard Lloyd Jones House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Textile Block home that was constructed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1929. This was Wright's only Textile Block house outside of California. The client, Richard L ...

, Tulsa *

White City Historic District White City is a residential neighborhood in Midtown, Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is bounded on the north by 2nd Street, on the east by Fulton Avenue, on the south by 11th Street and on the west by Yale Avenue. The neighborhood was added to the National ...

, Tulsa * Woodward Park and Gardens Historic District * Yorktown Historic District, Tulsa

References

External links

Tulsa County Government's website

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{Authority control 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907 Tulsa metropolitan area

History

Lasley Vore Site

Old Fort Arbuckle

Battle of Chusto-Talasah

Coming of the railroads

Oil Boom

Tulsa County Court House

1921 race riot

Geography and climate

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

Politics

Parks and recreation

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

Education

NRHP sites

See also

References

External links