Okemah, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Okemah is a city in Okfuskee County
, Oklahoma
, United States. It is the county seat
of Okfuskee County
. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie
. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered in Okemah. The population was 3,038 at the 2000 census and about 23 percent of the residents identified as American Indian
.
and Quapaw
, who ceded their lands to the United States by 1825, after Indian Removal
of tribes from the Southeast United States in the 1830s, this area was assigned to the Creek Nation and specifically, the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
.
Okemah was named after a Kickapoo Indian chief named Chief Okemah. In March 1902, Chief Okemah built a bark house in his tribe's traditional fashion. He had come to await the opening of the townsite which took his name April 22, 1902. In the Kickapoo language
, okemah means "things up high," such as highly placed person or town or high ground. Okemah had the chief's name to live up to in leadership.
In preparation for Oklahoma's being admitted as a state, the Dawes Commission
was authorized in 1896 to work with the Five Civilized Tribes
to enroll their members for allotments of tribal land to individual households. Registration of tribal members lasted from 1898-1906. After allotment, the government was going to declare as "surplus" the remaining tribal lands, and sell them to European-American settlers.
Okemah was platted by a group of Shawnee
residents in March 1902 on land belonging to Mahala and Nocus Fixico, full-blood Creek. The Fixicos had no legal right at the time to sell their holding, as enrollment of tribal members on the Dawes Roll continued until 1906, and no land sales were to take place by Indians until it was completed. That did not appear to affect the promoters or the development of the town.
On April 22, 1902 the formal opening launched the town. It was incorporated in 1903. In the spring of 1904, Commission restrictions on the sale of townsite lots were removed. The Department of Interior trustees of land held by American Indians paid the Fixicos $50 an acre for their land, and gave legal deeds to the purchasers who claimed title.
In the town's first week, the following stores were established: four general merchandise, two hardware, one 5 & 10 cent store, three drug stores, four grocery stores, three wagon yards, four lumber yards, three cafes, one bakery, two millinery stores, four livery barns, three blacksmiths, two dairies, two cotton gins and two weekly newspapers. Eight doctors settled there, four lawyers, two walnut log buyers, and one Chinese laundryman. Two hotels were quickly put up, including the three-story Broadway hotel which set the city apart as an important town in early-day Oklahoma.
Okfuskee County had been organized at the time of statehood in 1907. Okemah was chosen as county seat in a county election held August 27, 1908.
The town's first state-chartered bank began business the day of the opening, April 22, 1903 in a tent on the northwest corner of the present Fifth and Broadway (now City Hall). C. J. Benson was president. W. H. Dill was vice president and served as cashier. It became the First National Bank in 1903, but was liquidated in 1939, having failed due to the Dust Bowl
and the Great Depression
.
J. E. Galloway was the first mayor; Perry Rodkey, first postman; E. D. Dexter, first hotel operator; W. H. Dill ran the first telephone company; John D. Richards had the first hardware store; McGee Brothers put in the first cotton gin and E. E. Shook established the first lumber yard. The first church in the city was the North Methodist, at Sixth and Ash, but the first church service Baptist
, presided over by the Rev. Black. The editor Charles Barnclaw published the first newspaper.
A store building housed one of the first public schools, and the other was held in a building where the American Legion
building now stands. Noble School, completed in 1907, was named for Miss Mae Noble. Okemah High School gained accreditation in 1912. It met in the old Noble School building until the building of 1918 was erected. In the high school complex, the band shop building was erected 1941 and a vocational building in 1948.
s were active during Okemah's early years. Law enforcement and justices of the peace were located some distance away. They appeared to have had almost complete freedom of action.
In 1911, a black woman, 35-year old Laura Nelson, and her 15-year-old son Lawrence were lynched by a mob of 40 white men. Accused of killing a police officer in an altercation at their home near Paden
, they were kidnapped after being held at the jail and the county courthouse. They were hanged from a suspension bridge
over the North Canadian River
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7 km²), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (2.63%) is water.
was 1,170.5 people per square mile (451.1/km²). There were 1,506 housing units at an average density of 580.3 per square mile (223.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.09% White, 2.37% African American, 22.84% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.46% from other races
, and 5.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.94% of the population.
There were 1,242 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,306, and the median income for a family was $26,659. Males had a median income of $21,905 versus $15,375 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $12,645. About 19.5% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.6% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
Okfuskee County, Oklahoma
Okfuskee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 11,814. Its county seat is Okemah.-Geography:...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, United States. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Okfuskee County
Okfuskee County, Oklahoma
Okfuskee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 11,814. Its county seat is Okemah.-Geography:...
. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town is both a federally recognized Native American tribe and a traditional township of Muscogee Creek Indians, based in Oklahoma. The tribe's native language is Mvskoke, also called Creek.-History:...
, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered in Okemah. The population was 3,038 at the 2000 census and about 23 percent of the residents identified as American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
History
Historically occupied by the OsageOsage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
and Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
, who ceded their lands to the United States by 1825, after Indian Removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
of tribes from the Southeast United States in the 1830s, this area was assigned to the Creek Nation and specifically, the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town is both a federally recognized Native American tribe and a traditional township of Muscogee Creek Indians, based in Oklahoma. The tribe's native language is Mvskoke, also called Creek.-History:...
.
Okemah was named after a Kickapoo Indian chief named Chief Okemah. In March 1902, Chief Okemah built a bark house in his tribe's traditional fashion. He had come to await the opening of the townsite which took his name April 22, 1902. In the Kickapoo language
Fox language
Fox is an Algonquian language, spoken by around 1000 Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo in various locations in the Midwestern United States and in northern Mexico...
, okemah means "things up high," such as highly placed person or town or high ground. Okemah had the chief's name to live up to in leadership.
In preparation for Oklahoma's being admitted as a state, the Dawes Commission
Dawes Commission
The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...
was authorized in 1896 to work with the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
to enroll their members for allotments of tribal land to individual households. Registration of tribal members lasted from 1898-1906. After allotment, the government was going to declare as "surplus" the remaining tribal lands, and sell them to European-American settlers.
Okemah was platted by a group of Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
residents in March 1902 on land belonging to Mahala and Nocus Fixico, full-blood Creek. The Fixicos had no legal right at the time to sell their holding, as enrollment of tribal members on the Dawes Roll continued until 1906, and no land sales were to take place by Indians until it was completed. That did not appear to affect the promoters or the development of the town.
On April 22, 1902 the formal opening launched the town. It was incorporated in 1903. In the spring of 1904, Commission restrictions on the sale of townsite lots were removed. The Department of Interior trustees of land held by American Indians paid the Fixicos $50 an acre for their land, and gave legal deeds to the purchasers who claimed title.
In the town's first week, the following stores were established: four general merchandise, two hardware, one 5 & 10 cent store, three drug stores, four grocery stores, three wagon yards, four lumber yards, three cafes, one bakery, two millinery stores, four livery barns, three blacksmiths, two dairies, two cotton gins and two weekly newspapers. Eight doctors settled there, four lawyers, two walnut log buyers, and one Chinese laundryman. Two hotels were quickly put up, including the three-story Broadway hotel which set the city apart as an important town in early-day Oklahoma.
Okfuskee County had been organized at the time of statehood in 1907. Okemah was chosen as county seat in a county election held August 27, 1908.
"Firsts" in various spheres
It was Perry Rodkey and H.R. Dexter who first surveyed the townsite.The town's first state-chartered bank began business the day of the opening, April 22, 1903 in a tent on the northwest corner of the present Fifth and Broadway (now City Hall). C. J. Benson was president. W. H. Dill was vice president and served as cashier. It became the First National Bank in 1903, but was liquidated in 1939, having failed due to the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
and the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
J. E. Galloway was the first mayor; Perry Rodkey, first postman; E. D. Dexter, first hotel operator; W. H. Dill ran the first telephone company; John D. Richards had the first hardware store; McGee Brothers put in the first cotton gin and E. E. Shook established the first lumber yard. The first church in the city was the North Methodist, at Sixth and Ash, but the first church service Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, presided over by the Rev. Black. The editor Charles Barnclaw published the first newspaper.
Development of education
S. L. O'Bannon was the teacher in the first school, which was opened in 1902 with funds gained by subscribers. Classes were held in a store building. The first school building was built in 1902. It was later replaced by the Wilson School on the same site. The first public school was opened with Dr. Z. Cheatwood as superintendent in 1904.A store building housed one of the first public schools, and the other was held in a building where the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
building now stands. Noble School, completed in 1907, was named for Miss Mae Noble. Okemah High School gained accreditation in 1912. It met in the old Noble School building until the building of 1918 was erected. In the high school complex, the band shop building was erected 1941 and a vocational building in 1948.
Vigilantes and lynching
Though a police force was organized in the town soon after its founding (a Mr. Franklin wore the first city policeman's badge), vigilanteVigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
s were active during Okemah's early years. Law enforcement and justices of the peace were located some distance away. They appeared to have had almost complete freedom of action.
In 1911, a black woman, 35-year old Laura Nelson, and her 15-year-old son Lawrence were lynched by a mob of 40 white men. Accused of killing a police officer in an altercation at their home near Paden
Paden, Oklahoma
Paden is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 446 at the 2000 census. It is named for Paden Tolbert, a U.S. Deputy Marshall who served the area in the early 1900s.-History:...
, they were kidnapped after being held at the jail and the county courthouse. They were hanged from a suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
over the North Canadian River
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a tributary of the Canadian River, approximately long, that flows through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma in the United States....
.
Notable Okemahns
- Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
- FolkFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer - Gwen GuthrieGwen GuthrieGwen Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, and Roberta Flack....
- R&B singer - William Reid Pogue - astronaut
- Larry CokerLarry CokerLarry Edward Coker is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, whose Roadrunners football team begins play in 2011. From 2001 to 2006, Coker served as the head coach at the University of Miami...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach - Deloss Mcgraw- PainterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Geography
Okemah is located at 35°25′52"N 96°18′20"W (35.430987, -96.305500).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7 km²), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (2.63%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,038 people, 1,242 households, and 763 families residing in the city. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,170.5 people per square mile (451.1/km²). There were 1,506 housing units at an average density of 580.3 per square mile (223.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.09% White, 2.37% African American, 22.84% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.46% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 5.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.94% of the population.
There were 1,242 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,306, and the median income for a family was $26,659. Males had a median income of $21,905 versus $15,375 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $12,645. About 19.5% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.6% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.