Beggs, Oklahoma
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Beggs is a city in
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 ...
, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,321 at the 2010 census. Beggs was named for C.H. Beggs, vice president of the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railway.


History

Starting as a Frisco railroad stop in 1899, Beggs officially became a town on September 15, 1900, when its post office opened.Davidson, Ruth
"Beggs,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society. Accessed February 17, 2016.
It originally was a center for hog, cattle, and horse ranches in the area. In 1918, oil was discovered just to the west, and Beggs became an oil boomtown until ''circa'' 1926. After that, corn, cotton, pecans, and stock raising became important local industries, but Beggs went into a gradual decline, going from an official population of 2,327 in 1920 to 1,531 in 1930 and 1,107 in 1970. The population has since shown some upward fluctuation, settling at 1,321 as of the 2010 census. Isparhecher House and Grave is among the
National Register of Historic Places listings in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Okmulgee County, O ...
, and is located approximately four miles west of town off State Highway 16 on private land. Despite its size, Beggs has at least seven churches.


Geography

Beggs is located at (35.755595, −96.038052). That puts Beggs approximately 30 miles south of downtown
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. ...
and four miles west of
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 ...
, a major national north–south artery. U.S. Route 75 Alternate, the only such bannered route stemming from U.S. Route 75, is largely along the former alignment of the old Highway 75 prior to 1959, and travels from U.S. 75 west to Beggs, along SH-16, before turning north along said former alignment and continuing to
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 ...
. The former alignment running directly south from Beggs to Okmulgee is known as Old Highway 75. The major east–west route through Beggs is
Oklahoma State Highway 16 State Highway 16 (SH-16 or OK-16) is a state highway in Oklahoma. It runs in an irregular 99.2-mile west-to-east pattern through the northeastern part of the state, running from SH-33 at Drumright to SH-51 at Wagoner. There are no letter-s ...
. 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 the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,364 people, 538 households, and 363 families residing in the city. The population density was 320.3 people per square mile (123.6/km2). There were 608 housing units at an average density of 142.8 per square mile (55.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 59.53%
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 ...
, 21.70%
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 ...
, 9.75% Native American, 0.15% 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 8.87% from two or more races.
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 ...
or
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 1.25% of the population. There were 538 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,063, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $26,150 versus $22,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,191. About 16.9% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 29.3% of those age 65 or over.


Recreation

Recreational opportunities include Old Beggs Lake, southeast of the town center, and the larger New Beggs Lake, almost directly east of the town center. A city playground on Main Street was revitalized as Legacy Park in the 2019–2020 timeframe, complete with playground equipment, a pavilion, and picnic tables. Beggs Fairgrounds and Round-Up Club Arena is a fairgrounds and rodeo arena, available for special events.


Notable people

*
Lloyd Edgar Acree USS ''Lloyd E. Acree'' (DE-356) was a acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket. ...
, posthumous recipient of the
Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...
, was born here in 1920. * Suzan Shown Harjo, advocate for Native Americans * Don Owen, Louisiana broadcast journalist and politician was born in Beggs in 1930. *
Dan Rowan Daniel Hale Rowan (July 22, 1922 – September 22, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He was featured in the television show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'', wherein he played straight man to Dick Martin and won the 1969 Emmy for Outstandi ...
, best known for playing the
straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
to Dick Martin on ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...
''. * Alvin "Pooh" Williamson (born September 5, 1973) is a former college basketball player who is currently an assistant coach at the University of Miami. * Rodney Tate (born February 14, 1959) – NFL RB 1982–1984 for Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons. (http://www.nfl.com/player/rodneytate/2527042/careerstats) He played college Football for University of Texas and was part of the Beggs State Championship team in 1975. * Joe Martel III First know amputee to play football in Oklahoma and Social media influencer. * Cpl. Sammie Hubbell, Purple Heart recipient and Gold Star soldier as a member of Company A, 1st BN, 32nd Infantry Reg'mnt., 7th Infantry when American and U.N. forces were overrun by Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.


In popular culture

Beggs attracted national attention in the late 1970s when public pay phones offering calls for only five cents had long since been phased out across the country, but Beggs still had them. In the 21st century, pay phones of any cost began to be phased out across the country by AT&T in 2007 and Verizon in 2011. But as of mid-2022, Beggs still has nickel public pay phones, maintained by the Beggs Telephone Company. Beggs features prominently in '' The Great War: American Front'', the second volume of the
Southern Victory The ''Southern Victory'' series or Timeline-191 is a series of eleven alternate history novels by author Harry Turtledove, beginning with ''How Few Remain'' (1997) and published over a decade. The period addressed in the series begins during th ...
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
novels by author
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...
. In it,
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
forces, having won the War of Secession in 1862, are pitted against
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
forces in 1914-era trench combat on the North American continent, including in the Confederate
state of Sequoyah The State of Sequoyah was a proposed state to be established from the Indian Territory in the eastern part of present-day Oklahoma. In 1905, with the end of tribal governments looming (as prescribed by the Curtis Act of 1898), Native Americans ...
(
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 ...
) around the town of Beggs. Beggs was one of the filming sites for principal photography on Season One of the FX comedy series ''
Reservation Dogs ''Reservation Dogs'' is an Indigenous American teen comedy drama television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It is the first series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost ent ...
'' from filmmaker
Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is an American filmmaker. He has directed three feature films, a feature documentary, and the F ...
, which concerns four Native American teens in rural Oklahoma.


Notes


References


External links


Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Beggs



Beggs Area Chamber of Commerce (Facebook)
{{authority control Cities in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma Cities in Oklahoma Tulsa metropolitan area 1899 establishments in Indian Territory