Washington County, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
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 Location within the U.S. state ofOklahoma | |
| Coordinates:36°44′50″N95°58′50″W / 36.747206°N 95.980597°W /36.747206; -95.980597 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Oklahoma |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Named after | George Washington |
| Seat | Bartlesville |
| Largest city | Bartlesville |
| Area | |
• Total | 424 sq mi (1,100 km2) |
| • Land | 415 sq mi (1,070 km2) |
| • Water | 8.8 sq mi (23 km2) 2.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 52,455 |
| • Density | 120/sq mi (46/km2) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | www |
Washington County is acounty located in the northeastern part of theU.S. state ofOklahoma. As of the2020 census, the population was 52,455.[1] Itscounty seat isBartlesville.[2] Named for PresidentGeorge Washington, it is the smallest county in Oklahoma in total area,[3] adjacent to the largest county in Oklahoma,Osage County. Washington County comprises the Bartlesville, OKmicropolitan statistical area, which is also included in theTulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OKcombined statistical area. It is located along the border withKansas.
The Osage ceded their land claims in 1825, and the Federal Government allowed the Western Cherokee to settle in this area in 1828. The 1835Treaty of New Echota confirmed Cherokee ownership of the land. The area now covered by Washington County was part of the Cherokee Saline District between 1840 and 1856 and the Cooweescoowee District from 1856 to 1906.[3]
The first post office was established in 1859 at the confluence of Butler Creek and the Caney River by James L. Butler. Known as Little Verdigris, the settlement also had a trading post and a school. The Civil War caused most of the inhabitants to move away and the post office closed in 1866. In 1867, the Cherokees sold 157,600 acres to theEastern Delaware.[3]
In 1870, Nelson Carr built a grist mill along the Caney River, which he used to grind seed corn. In 1875, he sold the mill to Jacob Bartles (for whom the town ofBartlesville would be named), who modified the mill to produce wheat flour. Other important agricultural crops included potatoes, sorghum and oats, as well as prairie hay and pecans. Cotton production was attempted in the early 1900s, but the soil proved unsuitable and this crop was soon discontinued.[3]
The first commercial oil well in Oklahoma, designated as Nellie Johnstone Number One, was drilled near Bartlesville in 1897. According to theEncyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the industry developed slowly because of communal land ownership by the Cherokees, the lack of crude oil markets, and lack of reliable transportation. Bartlesville became an oil boom town only after 1900, when the nearby Osage County oil fields were developed and railroads were built into the area. In 1900, Phoenix Oil Company built a pipeline from Osage County to Bartlesville's Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot, where there was an oil loading facility. Oil was shipped from there to a refinery inNeodesha, Kansas in the same year. Washington County fields were developed soon afterward. The Bartlesville Field reached peak development during 1904 to 1906; the Bartlesville-Dewey Field in 1905 and the Copan, Canary, Hogshooter, and Wann fields were located in 1907. Several oil companies set up headquarters in the county, most notablyPhillips Petroleum in Bartlesville.[3]
Railroads came to this area at the turn of the 20th century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway opened a line fromOwen toOwasso, Oklahoma in 1899. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad opened a line fromStevens, Kansas toDewey, Oklahoma in 1901-2 and another line fromHominy, Oklahoma to Bartlesville in 1903–04.[3]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 424 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 415 square miles (1,070 km2) is land and 8.8 square miles (23 km2) (2.1%) is water.[4] It is the second-smallest county in Oklahoma by land area and smallest by total area. It lies in the Eastern Lowlands physiographic region, and is drained by theCaney River. Lakes and reservoirs includeCopan Lake,Silver Lake andBar-Dew Lake.[3]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 17,484 | — | |
| 1920 | 27,002 | 54.4% | |
| 1930 | 27,777 | 2.9% | |
| 1940 | 30,559 | 10.0% | |
| 1950 | 32,880 | 7.6% | |
| 1960 | 42,347 | 28.8% | |
| 1970 | 42,277 | −0.2% | |
| 1980 | 48,113 | 13.8% | |
| 1990 | 48,066 | −0.1% | |
| 2000 | 48,996 | 1.9% | |
| 2010 | 50,976 | 4.0% | |
| 2020 | 52,455 | 2.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2019[9] 2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 52,455. Of the residents, 23.5% were under the age of 18 and 20.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.9 males.[11][12]
The racial makeup of the county was 68.9% White, 2.6%Black or African American, 10.3%American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%Asian, 2.3% from some other race, and 14.0% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.4% of the population.[12]
There were 21,071 households in the county, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[11]
There were 23,713 housing units, of which 11.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.6% were owner-occupied and 29.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.4%.[11]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 50,976 people, 21,036 households, and 14,123 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 45/km2 (120/mi2). There were 23,451 housing units at an average density of 55.3 per square mile (21.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.9%white, 2.4%black orAfrican American, 10.3%Native American, 1.1%Asian, less than 0.1%Pacific Islander, 1.7% fromother races, and 6.1% from two or more races. Five percent of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.[9]
As of 2010, there were 21,036 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% weremarried couples living together, 11% had a female householder with no husband present, 4% had a male householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. Individuals living alone accounted for 28.7% of households and individuals who were 65 years of age or older living alone accounted for 12.9%. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males.
As of 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $35,816, and the median income for a family was $43,514. Males had a median income of $34,201 versus $22,389 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $20,250. About 8.70% of families and 11.90% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over. According to 2021 census estimates, its median household income was $55,216.[13]
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 31, 2021[14] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
| Republican | 20,565 | 60.82% | |||
| Democratic | 6,414 | 18.97% | |||
| Others | 6,835 | 20.21% | |||
| Total | 33,814 | 100% | |||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1908 | 1,528 | 49.82% | 1,409 | 45.94% | 130 | 4.24% |
| 1912 | 1,477 | 43.63% | 1,561 | 46.12% | 347 | 10.25% |
| 1916 | 1,727 | 44.00% | 1,839 | 46.85% | 359 | 9.15% |
| 1920 | 4,105 | 57.83% | 2,805 | 39.51% | 189 | 2.66% |
| 1924 | 4,579 | 55.17% | 3,487 | 42.01% | 234 | 2.82% |
| 1928 | 7,258 | 73.48% | 2,563 | 25.95% | 56 | 0.57% |
| 1932 | 4,713 | 40.71% | 6,863 | 59.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 5,201 | 45.51% | 6,202 | 54.27% | 26 | 0.23% |
| 1940 | 7,347 | 53.72% | 6,289 | 45.99% | 40 | 0.29% |
| 1944 | 6,533 | 56.12% | 5,090 | 43.72% | 18 | 0.15% |
| 1948 | 6,036 | 52.29% | 5,508 | 47.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 11,334 | 64.50% | 6,238 | 35.50% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 12,488 | 69.31% | 5,529 | 30.69% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 13,700 | 71.43% | 5,479 | 28.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 12,382 | 59.09% | 8,571 | 40.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 12,812 | 62.36% | 4,641 | 22.59% | 3,091 | 15.05% |
| 1972 | 16,347 | 79.74% | 3,658 | 17.84% | 495 | 2.41% |
| 1976 | 14,560 | 67.19% | 6,898 | 31.83% | 212 | 0.98% |
| 1980 | 16,563 | 70.47% | 5,854 | 24.91% | 1,086 | 4.62% |
| 1984 | 19,043 | 77.20% | 5,476 | 22.20% | 148 | 0.60% |
| 1988 | 14,613 | 67.30% | 6,971 | 32.11% | 129 | 0.59% |
| 1992 | 11,342 | 47.93% | 6,593 | 27.86% | 5,728 | 24.21% |
| 1996 | 11,605 | 56.08% | 6,732 | 32.53% | 2,357 | 11.39% |
| 2000 | 13,788 | 66.47% | 6,644 | 32.03% | 312 | 1.50% |
| 2004 | 16,551 | 70.69% | 6,862 | 29.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2008 | 16,457 | 72.29% | 6,308 | 27.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2012 | 15,668 | 73.91% | 5,532 | 26.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2016 | 15,825 | 71.21% | 5,048 | 22.71% | 1,351 | 6.08% |
| 2020 | 17,076 | 72.66% | 5,790 | 24.64% | 635 | 2.70% |
| 2024 | 16,836 | 72.65% | 5,793 | 25.00% | 545 | 2.35% |
The following sites in Washington County are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places
Places adjacent to Washington County, Oklahoma | |
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Municipalities and communities ofWashington County, Oklahoma,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| Counties |  | |
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| Principal city | ||
| Cities over 20k | ||
| Cities 10k-20k | ||
| Cities 5k-10k | ||
| Cities and towns 1k-5k | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
36°44′50″N95°58′50″W / 36.747206°N 95.980597°W /36.747206; -95.980597
