Pawnee 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 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 so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,553. 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 ...

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

. The county is named after the Pawnee Nation,Wilson, Linda D
"Pawnee County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015. whose reservation used to encompass the county prior to allotment in 1893. Pawnee County is included in the

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, OK metropolitan statistical area.

History

The

Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) () is a Midwestern Native American nation of the Great Plains. The tribe began in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 1620 A.D along with other groups of its language family, then migrated west in the 17th cen ...

used the area that contains present-day Pawnee County as buffalo hunting grounds. In 1825, The Osage ceded parts of present-day Missouri, Arkansas, and most of the future state of Oklahoma to the US federal government. After their forced removal from the Southeastern United States, Cherokee people received land in Eastern Oklahoma as well as the

Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a parcel of land south of the Oklahoma–Kansas border between 96th meridian west, 96 and 100th meridian west, 100°W. The Che ...

in 1828, which included present-day Pawnee County. After the Civil War, the Cherokee agreed to allow other American Indians to settle in the eastern portion of the outlet. According to the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Pawnee Nation, the Pawnee people sold their Nebraska reservation in 1874 and used those funds to purchase land from the Cherokee Nation and the Muscogee Nation to establish a home in the Indian Territory. From the Pawnee Nation Historic Preservation Office, the Pawnee people were forced to sign an agreement in 1891 to take land allotments from the reservation or have their lands taken from them by

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

. The remaining lands were opened to non-Indian settlers in 1893. Pawnee County was organized as County Q, and the future town of

, Townsite Number 13, was designated the county seat. In 1894, the voters chose the name Pawnee County over the name Platte County. The female bandit, Little Britches, companion in crime with Cattle Annie, lived for a time at Sinnett, site of the

Muscogee (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 ...

in Pawnee County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.5%) is water. The western third of the county is part of the Red Bed plains, while the remainder is in the Sandstone Hills region. The Cimarron and Arkansas Rivers drain the county. Black Bear Creek also extends through the county. Lone Chimney Lake dam is also in Pawnee County, while the lake extends into Payne County."Lone Chimney Lake, Oklahoma." OutdoorsOK.
Accessed September 5, 2015.

Adjacent counties

* Osage County (northeast) * Tulsa County (southeast) * Creek County (south) *

Payne County Payne County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 81,646. Its county seat is Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. The county was created in ...

(southwest) * Noble County (west)

Earthquake

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near the city of Pawnee, just after 7 a.m. (CST) on September 3, 2016. This was Oklahoma's strongest quake in history, exceeding the 5.7-magnitude quake near

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

on November 5, 2011. Buildings in Pawnee were damaged, but there were no reports of deaths. A Pawnee resident was injured while shielding his child from debris falling from a chimney. State regulators in Oklahoma ordered 37 petroleum production wastewater disposal wells in the vicinity of the earthquake (see map in citation) to be rapidly closed while assessments were made.

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 16,612 people, 6,383 households, and 4,748 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 7,464 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.27%

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 ...

, 0.69%

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 ...

, 12.13% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.24% from other races, and 4.42% from two or more races. 1.16% 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. In 2020, its population was 15,553. In 2000, there were 6,383 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% 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, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% 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 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,661, and the median income for a family was $37,274. Males had a median income of $29,946 versus $21,069 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 $15,261. About 9.60% of families and 13.00% 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 16.60% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

Cities

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

(county seat)

Towns

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

* Hallett *

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

* Maramec * Oak Grove * Ralston * Skedee * Terlton * Westport

Unincorporated communities

* Mule Barn (former town) *

Quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

(partially in

/also a

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 ...

) * Shady Grove (former town)

NRHP sites

The following sites in Pawnee 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 ...

: * Arkansas Valley National Bank, Pawnee * Blackburn Methodist Church, Blackburn * Blue Hawk Peak Ranch, Pawnee * Corliss Steam Engine, Pawnee * First State Bank of Maramec, Maramec * Mullendore Mansion, Cleveland * Pawnee Agency and Boarding School Historic District, Pawnee * Pawnee Armory, Pawnee * Pawnee County Courthouse, Pawnee * Pawnee Indian Agency, Pawnee * Pawnee Municipal Swimming Pool and Bathhouse, Pawnee * Ralston Opera House, Ralston

References

{{authority control Tulsa metropolitan area 1893 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Populated places established in 1893