Pawhuska (Osage: 𐓄𐓘𐓢𐓶𐓮𐓤𐓘,hpahúska, lit.:White Hair;Chiwere:Paháhga) is a city in and thecounty seat ofOsage County, Oklahoma, United States.^[4] As of the2020 census, the population of the city was 2,984.^[3] It was named after the 19th-century Osage chief,Paw-Hiu-Skah, which means "White Hair" in English.^[5] TheOsage tribal government, which opened offices in Pawhuska in 1872 when its reservation was established inIndian Territory, continues to be based in Pawhuska.

Pawhuska, Oklahoma 𐓄𐓘𐓢𐓶𐓮𐓤𐓘 hpahúska
City
Historic Downtown Pawhuska (2005)
Location withinOklahoma
Coordinates:36°40′04″N96°20′14″W / 36.66778°N 96.33722°W /36.66778; -96.33722[1]
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Osage
Founded	1872 (Deep Ford)
Named after	Paw-Hiu-Skah
Government
• Mayor	Susan Bayro (R)
Area [2]
• Total	3.71 sq mi (9.61 km2)
• Land	3.69 sq mi (9.57 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation [1]	820 ft (250 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	2,984
• Density	800/sq mi (310/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	74056
Area code	539/918
FIPS code	40-57600
GNIS ID	2411388[1]
Website	pawhuska.org

The town, originally known as Deep Ford,^[6] was established in 1872 with the reservation for theOsage Nation, part ofIndian Territory. The Osage Indian Agency was located alongBird Creek. One of the three main bands of the tribe settled here. Traders followed, building stores during 1872 and 1873. Pawhuska's first newspaper, theIndian Herald (also known asWah-Sha-She News.), was founded in 1875 by George Edward Tinker, an Osage who became the father ofClarence L. Tinker, highest-ranking Native American officer in the US Army.^[7] The first post office opened in 1876.^[5]

TheMidland Valley Railroad reached Pawhuska in September 1905. By the time of statehood in 1907, the town population was 2,407.^[5]

The firstBoy Scout troop is claimed to have been organized in Pawhuska in May 1909 by John F. Mitchell, a missionary priest from England sent to St. Thomas Episcopal Church by theChurch of England.^[8] OnIndependence day weekend 2009, the Pawhuska Boy Scout troop celebrated itscentennial with a mini-jamboree attended by over 300 Scouts from across the United States.

During the Osageoil boom of the 1910s and 1920s, Pawhuska was the site of big-money public auctions of oil and gas leases under the so-called “Million Dollar Elm” next to the Osage Council House.^[9] The population grew to 6,414 by 1920. TheAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad extended its line from Owen, a community inWashington County, to Pawhuska in 1923. As the oil boom declined and theGreat Depression set in, the population declined. The steady decline has continued to the present.

Minor league baseball came to Pawhuska briefly in the 1920s in the form of two teams: thePawhuska Huskers, which operated from 1920 to 1921, and thePawhuska Osages, which operated for part of the 1922 season before folding.

Pawhuska is 57 miles (92 km) northwest ofTulsa.^[5] According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), all land. The city lies within USDA plant hardiness zone 7a (0 to 5 °F; −18 to −15 °C).^[10][11] TheTallgrass Prairie Preserve lies north of the town.^[5]

^[12]Pawhuska is in theTulsa metropolitan area, which includes part of Osage County.

The population of the city was 3,589 at the2010 census, a decline of 1.2 percent from 3,629 at the2000 census.^[13]

As of thecensus^[14] of 2000, there were 3,629 people, 1,513 households, and 954 families residing in the city. The population density was 966.4 inhabitants per square mile (373.1/km²). There were 1,802 housing units at an average density of 479.9 per square mile (185.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.98%White, 2.78%African American, 25.46%Native American, 0.25%Asian, 0.52% fromother races, and 6.01% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.85% of the population.

There were 1,513 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% weremarried couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,156, and the median income for a family was $31,599. Males had a median income of $25,682 versus $17,690 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $13,916. About 13.7% of families and 17.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Other than cattle ranches nearby, local employment consisted primarily of a brick plant, a creamery, an ice factory, and a rock crusher.^[5] The Osage Nation has opened a gaming casino here, hoping to generate revenue for the tribe.

In 2016, "Pioneer Woman"Ree Drummond opened The Mercantile on Main Street. Since 2011 she has had a TV series, named after her blog, on The Food Network. Her store and restaurant are related ventures. By 2018 the restaurant was serving up to 6,000 people per day.^[15]

Drummond also operates a boutique hotel,^[16] The PW Boarding House. She offers tours of her cooking lodge on nearby Drummond Ranch, the base for her TV show,The Pioneer Woman.

Pawhuska has ahome rule charter form of government.^[5]

The area is served byPawhuska Public Schools,^[17] which operates Pawhuska High School.^[18]

There is a private Osage language immersion preschool through 7th grade school,Daposka Ahnkodapi Elementary School.^[19] It opened in 2015 and was accredited in 2021.^[20]

Oklahoma State University has an Osage County Extension Office near Pawhuska.^[21]

In the past there was afederally-run boarding school for Osage students.^[22] It was known as the McCabe Boarding School, a.k.a. Osage Boarding School a.k.a. Pawhuska Boarding School. It began around 1889 and closed at a point up to 1893.^[23] Additionally, St. Louis School for Osage Indian Girls, created by the Roman Catholic Church, began in 1887 and closed at a point up to 1949.^[24]

Radio stations licensed to Pawhuska include:

• KPGM Radio 1500 AM, featuring local news until 8:00am and the Sports Animal Format out of Oklahoma City
• KOSG 103.9 FM, featuring Southern Gospel music.

The local newspaper is thePawhuska Journal-Capital.^[25] Its roots go back to two papers which subsequently merged:The Capital andThe Journal, each established in 1904.^[26] TheJournal-Capital has been in continuous publication under that name since April 6, 1925.^[26]

Pawhuska is served by one U.S. Highway and two state highways.

• US-60 is an east–west highway that enters Pawhuska on the east side of town at the junction of SH-99/SH-11 and follows Main Street. The highway will exit Pawhuska to the west near Elk Lodge Drive.
• SH-11 is a predominately east–west state highway that enters Pawhuska on the east side of town at the junction of US-60/OK-99 and runs along Main Street. Like US-60, the highway will exit Pawhuska to the west near Elk Lodge Drive.
• SH-99 is a north–south state highway. SH-99 will skirt Pawhuska on the east side of town andrun concurrently with US-60 to Main Street, where it will continue south. SH-99 will then overlap OK-11 until the highway exits Pawhuska near Osage County Road 2625.

Pawhuska Municipal Airport, FAA Identifier H76, is a single runway airport located on US-60 and Osage County Road 4291, about four miles west of the city.^[27] Runway 35/17 is paved, 3,200-foot-long (980 m) and 60-foot-wide (18 m).^[27] The airport opened in September 1945.^[27]

• In 1930, prairie and oilfield scenes for the filmCimarron were filmed in Pawhuska.^[30]
• Tracy Letts'Pulitzer Prize-winning playAugust: Osage County (2007) is set in a country house near Pawhuska, and the2013 film of the same name was partially filmed there.^[31]
• TheTerrence Malick filmTo the Wonder (2012) was partially filmed in Pawhuska.^[31]
• The movieKillers of the Flower Moon (2023) was primarily filmed in Pawhuska.^[32][31]
• Pro wrestlerChief Jay Strongbow, was billed from Pawhuska.

• Montauban (France)

• Franks, Kenny A. (1989).The Osage Oil Boom. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Heritage Association.OCLC 84216747.
• Osage County Profiles. Pawhuska, Okla.: Osage County Historical Society. 1978.
• "Pawhuska".Vertical File. Oklahoma City: Research Division, Oklahoma Historical Society.
• Warehime, Les (2000).History of Ranching the Osage. Tulsa, Okla.: W. W. Publishing.OCLC 865808685.

• City of Pawhuska