Nowata County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in northeastern

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States, on the

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

border. As of the 2020 census, its population is 9,320. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Nowata. Their name is derived from a Delaware word, ''no-we-ata'', meaning "come here" or "welcome".Cheatham, Gary L
"Nowata County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.

History

For millennia, the land now known as Oklahoma was inhabited by Native Americans. The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' states that archaeological evidence indicates that humans first lived in this area in the Verdigris River valley over six thousand years ago. In the 17th century, white trappers first visiting the area found it occupied mostly by the Osage and

Quapaw The Quapaw ( , Quapaw language, Quapaw: ) or Arkansas, officially the Quapaw Nation, is a List of federally recognized tribes in the United States, U.S. federally recognized tribe comprising about 6,000 citizens. Also known as the Ogáxpa or � ...

tribes. It was recognized as Osage territory by the time

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

secured it as part of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

in 1803. In 1819, the

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a organized incorporated territory of the United States, territory of the United States from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the ...

was organized, then was split in 1824 and 1828. An 1828 treaty with the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

assigned the area of Nowata County to the Cherokees, who included it in 1856 in their newly created Cooweescoowee District. The Cherokees and the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

signed a treaty in 1867 that resulted in Delaware settlements near the present towns of

, Lenapah and Nowata, Oklahoma. The state of

and Nowata County was established in 1907, and the county had a population of 10,453. The town of Nowata was named as county seat. The exact origin is unknown, but the two most common stories are that railroad surveyors used the

word ''noweta'' for ''welcome'' or that a sign was posted indicating that local springs had no water: ''No wata''.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.6%) is water. The Verdigris River divides the county into eastern and western halves. Creeks in the extreme western part of the county drain into 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 ...

. All other creeks drain into the Verdigris River. Lake Oologah lies partly in this county.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 60 * US 169

U.S. Highway 169 * Oklahoma State Highway 10

State Highway 10 * Oklahoma State Highway 28

State Highway 28

Adjacent counties

* Montgomery County, Kansas (north) * Labette County, Kansas (northeast) * Craig County (east) *

Rogers County Rogers County is a county 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 ...

(south) * Washington County (west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 10,569 people, 4,147 households, and 2,989 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 4,705 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 72.43%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.46%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 16.56% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 8.17% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 4,147 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,470, and the median income for a family was $36,354. Males had a median income of $27,047 versus $19,371 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,244. About 9.00% of families and 14.10% 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 ...

, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 11.30% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The economy of Nowata County has been based on agriculture. The most important crops are wheat, corn, oats, and sorghum. Cattle ranching is also important to the local economy.

Government

The county operates the Nowata County Jail. In 2019 the county government wanted the jail to be open even though there had been a carbon monoxide leak around three weeks prior. The sheriff and several deputies resigned. The county has renamed or renumbered many addresses so that emergency

first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include law enforcement officers (commonly known as ...

will be better able to find locations from which

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

calls have been placed.

Politics

At presidential level, Nowata County has voted for Democratic and Republican candidates at different times in its history, though from

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, the county has voted solidly Republican.

Communities

City

* Nowata (county seat)

Towns

* Lenapah * New Alluwe * South Coffeyville * Wann

Unincorporated communities

* Alluwe (ghost town) * Watova (

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) * Childers

Historic Places

The following sites in Nowata County are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: * Cemetery Patent 110, Delaware * Diamond Point School, Nowata * Nowata County Courthouse, Nowata

References

{{Coord, 36.79, -95.62, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990, display=title 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907