Tonkawa is a city in Kay County,

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, along the

Salt Fork Arkansas River The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Arkansas River in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma in the Unit ...

. The population was 3,015 as of the 2020 United States census.

History

Named after the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

tribe, the city of Tonkawa was founded in March 1894 by Eli V. Blake and Wiley William Gregory. Blake and Gregory, originally from

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 ...

, claimed the land that would become Tonkawa in the

Land Run of 1893 In U.S. history, the Land Run of 1893, also known as the Cherokee Outlet Opening or the Cherokee Strip Land Run, marked the opening to settlement of the Cherokee Outlet in the Oklahoma Territory's fourth and largest land run. It was part of wha ...

. Prior to the land run, from 1879 to 1885, the area was known as "Fort Oakland", home to the

Nez Perce people The Nez Perce (; Exonym and endonym, autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwes ...

. In 1885, the remnants of the Tonkawa tribe, who had fled Indian Territory after the 1862 Tonkawa Massacre, returned to settle in the Fort Oakland area. The Blackwell and Southern Railway (later bought by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

) built a line through Tonkawa, which stimulated growth of the town. In 1901, the Oklahoma Territory Legislature established the University Preparatory School (now Northern Oklahoma College) here. By statehood, the population was 1,238. The discovery of oil caused a boom in the 1920s, and the population was 3,311 in 1930.

Camp Tonkawa

During World War II, Tonkawa was home to Camp Tonkawa, a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

. Camp Tonkawa remained in operation from August 30, 1943, to September 1, 1945. Built between October and December 1942, the site contained more than 180 wooden structures for 3,000 German POWs as well as 500 U.S. Army guard troops, service personnel and civilian employees. The first prisoners, consisting of German troops from the

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

, arrived in August 1943. During their internment, prisoners labored at local farms and ranches. In November 1943, a prison riot caused the death of a German soldier,

Johannes Kunze Wilhelm Reinhold Johannes Kunze (March 5, 1904 – November 4, 1943) was a German World War II prisoner of war (POW) held at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma.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 Colorado, specifically ...

, west of Ponca City.

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

passes through the northern side of the city, leading east to Ponca City and west to Lamont.

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...

follows US 60 east to Ponca City, but turns south in Tonkawa and becomes Main Street, then leads south to

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

passes west of the center of Tonkawa, with access from Exits 211 and 214. I-35 leads south to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and north to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. 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 ...

, Tonkawa has a total area of , of which , or 0.48%, are water.

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 3,299 people, 1,197 households, and 801 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.39%

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 ...

, 5.55% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 3.06% from other races, and 3.82% 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 6.64% of the population. There were 1,197 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,387, and the median income for a family was $35,912. Males had a median income of $27,222 versus $20,128 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 city was $14,245. About 12.5% of families and 17.6% 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 23.9% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Tonkawa is covered by the Tonkawa Public Schools district which includes Tonkawa Elementary, Tonkawa Middle School, and Tonkawa High School. Tonkawa is also home to Northern Oklahoma College which provides Associates level education.

Points of interest

Museums

* North Oklahoma Botanical Garden and Arboretum * A. D. Buck Museum of Science and History * Tonkawa Historical Museum (McCarter Museum) * Tonkawa Tribal Museum * Eleanor Hays Art Gallery (at Northern Oklahoma College) * Pickens Learning Commons

NRHP sites

The following sites in Tonkawa are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places in Kay County, Oklahoma __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kay County, Oklahoma. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kay County, Oklahoma, ...

: * First Presbyterian Church of Tonkawa * Mahoney House and Garage * Nez Perce Reservation * Tonkawa Armory

Notable people

* Clara Archilta, watercolor painter and beadworker. *

Henry Bellmon Henry Louis Bellmon (September 3, 1921 – September 29, 2009) was an American Republican politician from the U.S. State of Oklahoma. A member of the Oklahoma Legislature, he went on to become both the 18th and 23rd governor of Oklahoma, mai ...

, first Republican governor of Oklahoma (1963–1967, 1991–1995) and U.S. senator (1969–1981) from Billings, OK * Bo Bowling,

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

player

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities in Kay County, Oklahoma Cities in Oklahoma 1894 establishments in Oklahoma Territory