Oologah ( ) is a town in

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 ...

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. Renowned humorist

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

was born on a ranch two miles east of Oologah, although he usually claimed Claremore as his birthplace ''"because nobody but an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

can pronounce 'Oologah.'"'' There has been disagreement about the proper spelling for the town name. The official spelling is now Oologah. It was often spelled Oolagah before statehood, and this spelling appears on some old buildings.

History

In 1889, the

Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway The Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (“K&AV”) was owner of 170.64 miles of single track, standard gauge steam railroad line, consisting of a 164.63 mile mainline from a junction near Van Buren, Arkansas through Oklahoma to Coffeyville, Kansa ...

(later, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, subsequently a part of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

, and currently, the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

) laid tracks through the area and established a townsite named Oologah, Indian Territory. Oologah was named for ''Oologah'' (Dark Cloud), a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

chief. The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' says that the Oklahoma

Federal Writers' Project The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers and to develop a history and overview of the United States, by state, cities and other jurisdictions. It was ...

claimed the name translates from the

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

as "red horse fish", while some other sources say that the name means "cloudy weather" or just "clouds." The post office was opened May 25, 1891.Larry O'Dell, "Oologah" ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''.
/ref> Early in the 20th century, the town flourished because of agriculture, coal mining, and oil and gas production. However, these were hard hit during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The town's population declined from 324 in 1910 to 236 in 1940. The population had recovered to 299 in 1960. Construction of Oologah dam and lake in 1963, east of town, revitalized the town, which has continued to grow. In 1963, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the first phase of

Oologah Lake Lake Oologah is a reservoir in northeastern Oklahoma. It is located near the towns of Oologah, Nowata, and Claremore. The lake has a surface of of water and of shoreline with 11 lake-side parks. The water storage capacity is rated as . The lak ...

. In 1991, an F4 tornado which was part of the

Andover, Kansas tornado outbreak From April 26 to 27, 1991, multiple supercells across Oklahoma and Kansas led to a regional tornado outbreak. Forced by a potent trough and focused along a dryline, these distinct thunderstorms moved northeast through a moist and highly unst ...

destroyed the north side of Oologah, including the town's school.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

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 2020, there is 1,193 people and 435 households residing in the town. 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 ...

is 955 people per square mile (368.72). The racial makeup of the town is 69.85%

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 ...

, 0.85%

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 ...

, 14.65% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.94% from other races, and 12.86% from two or more races.

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 were 2.39% of the population. 69.3% of the population was over 18. As of the 2000 census, there were 342 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% 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, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,977, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $37,500 versus $25,000 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 town was $16,493. About 7.5% of families and 9.8% 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 14.7% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Oologah-Talala Public Schools has a 4A sized high school. The Oologah Lower Elementary is an "Oklahoma A+" school, recognized as being one of seven schools statewide chosen for this honor. The Oologah-Talala High School athletic program has gained the school recognition. In the 1990s, Oologah had the most successful class 3A football program in the state; an era that featured the Mustangs as class 3A State Champions in 1997 & 1998 and two Class 3A state runner-up finishes. In March 2010, an outbreak of

bacterial meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionall ...

killed two students at Oologah-Talala Lower Elementary School.

Oologah High School Sports Championships

Baseball *1996 Class 4A State Champions *2005 Class 4A State Champions Basketball *1965 Class B Boys Basketball State Champions *1994 Class 3A 5-on-5 Girls Basketball State Champions Football *1997 Class 3A State Champions *1998 Class 3A State Champions Softball *1988 Class 4A Fast Pitch State Champions *1989 Class 3A Fast Pitch State Champions *1992 Class 3A Fast Pitch State Champions *1993 Class 3A Fast Pitch State Champions *1998 Class 3A Fast Pitch State Champions *1999 Class 4A Fast Pitch State Champions *2012 Class 4A Fast Pitch State Champions Volleyball *1961 State Champions *1965 State Champions Soccer *2024 Class 4A State Championship Source:

Notable people

Zach Bryan Zachary Lane Bryan (born April 2, 1996) is an American country singer-songwriter and rock musician from Oologah, Oklahoma. After two self-produced studio albums—''DeAnn'' (2019) and '' Elisabeth'' (2020)—he signed with Warner Records to ...

– singer-songwriter *

– political

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

of the early 1900s; born at

Dog Iron Ranch Dog Iron Ranch is a historic ranch located about two miles east of Oologah, Oklahoma, United States. The birthplace of humorist Will Rogers, it was donated to the State of Oklahoma by the Rogers family, and is now owned and operated by the Che ...

just outside Oologah