Early History of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Timeline
1540 Spanish explorer, Spanish Hernando de Soto (1500-1542) explores the area in search of gold
1541 The Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (1510-1554) explores Oklahoma
1700's Many different tribes from the great Indian Nations were forced to move from their homelands and were granted land in Oklahoma 1719 French Explorer, Soldier and Trader Jean Baptiste Bernard de La Harpe (1683 - 1765) explores Oklahoma
1756 - 1763 The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.
1763 French possessions west of the Mississippi River, then known as the Province of Louisiana, were transferred to Spain
1775 - 1783 - The American Revolution creates the United States of America. The Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes and total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies. George Washington led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence)
1776 July 4, 1776 - United States Declaration of Independence
1778 July 10, 1778 - France declares war against Britain and makes an alliance with the American revolutionary forces
1783 September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed by the victorious United States and the defeated Great Britain
1803 Oklahoma was claimed by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase
1803 The Louisiana Purchase - In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The U.S. Secretary of State, James Madison paid 15 million dollars for the land
1804 Lewis and Clark expeditions to Oklahoma - Info - Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770- 1838)
1804 Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike (1779-1813), a native of New Jersey, explores Oklahoma
1812 - 1815 - The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but confirmed America's Independence
1817 Fort Smith, a military post, was established at the mouth of the Poteau River, on the eastern border of Oklahoma
1836 - 1837 - The Second Creek War (Seminole War)
1832-1839 - Removal of the Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek Indians, known as the "Five Civilized Tribes", to Indian Territory in Oklahoma
1861 - 1865: The American Civil War. outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president and in 1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War..
1865 The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865, signaled the end of the Confederacy
1865 December 6 - The Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, thus officially abolishing slavery
1889 Unassigned Lands were offered to settlers through a series of horse races - many people arrived early for Land Opening / Land Run and these were nicknamed the 'Sooners'
1898-1901 The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.
1907 Statehood - The Date that Oklahoma was admitted to the Union - November 16, 1907. Constitution - Oklahoma was the 46th State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto - " Labor omnia vincit " the State Motto is translated as " Labor Conquers all things".
Oklahoma Counties
- Adair
"Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Stilwell. Adair County was named after the Adair family of the Cherokee tribe. One source says that the county was specifically named for Watt Adair, one of the first Cherokees to settle in the area. The county was created in 1906 from the Goingsnake and Flint districts of the Cherokee Nation. There was a decade-long struggle over what town would become the county seat between Stilwell and Westville. When the county was formed, Westville was identified as the county seat, due partly to its location at the intersection of two major railroads: the Kansas City Southern Railway and the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway.The county seat was moved to Stilwell in 1910."[1]
- Alfalfa
"Alfalfa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Cherokee. Indigenous peoples inhabited and hunted in this area for thousands of years. By 1750, the Osage had become a dominant tribe in the area. About one third belonged to the band led by Chief Black Dog (Manka - Chonka). Before 1800 they made the Black Dog Trail starting east of Baxter Springs, Kansas and heading southwest to their summer hunting grounds at the Great Salt Plains in present-day Alfalfa County. The Osage stopped at the springs, which attracted migratory birds and varieties of wildlife, for its healing properties on their way to hunting on the plains. The Osage name for this fork of the Arkansas River was Nescatunga (big salt water), what European-Americans later called the Salt Fork. The Osage cleared the trail of brush and large rocks and made ramps at the fords. Wide enough for eight men riding horses abreast, the trail was the first improved road in Kansas and Oklahoma. Alfalfa County was formed at statehood in 1907 from Woods County. The county is named after William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray, the president of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention and ninth governor of Oklahoma. He was instrumental in creating the county from the original, much larger Woods county."[2]
- Atoka
"Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named Atoka. The area encompassed by the present Atoka County was originally part of Shappaway County in the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation. About 1854, the area was formally designated Atoka County. The name, which honored Choctaw Chief Atoka, a leader of a party which migrated from Georgia to Indian Territory, was retained when Oklahoma became a state."[3]
- Beaver
"Beaver County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Beaver. The name was given because of the presence of many beaver dams on the Beaver River, which runs through the area. It is located in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The land where Beaver County is located has been under several jurisdictions. At one time, it was part of Mexico and then Texas before Texas became a state of the United States. Then in the Compromise of 1850, Texas ceded the land that would eventually become the Oklahoma panhandle to the United States government. The area was known as "No Man's Land" because it belonged to no state or territorial government. There was a period of time (1886 - 1890) during which it was a separate organized territory, known as Cimarron Territory. After becoming part of the Oklahoma Territory in 1890, Beaver County (first called Seventh County) covered the entire Oklahoma Panhandle. At statehood in 1907, Cimarron County was taken from the western one-third, while Texas County was taken from the middle, leaving Beaver County only in the east."[4]
- Beckham
"Beckham County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Sayre. Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W. Beckham, who was Governor of Kentucky and the first popularly elected member of the United States Senate from Kentucky. Beckham County comprises the Elk City, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area."[5]
- Blaine
"Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Watonga. Blaine County is the birthplace of voice actor Clarence Nash, the voice of Disney's Donald Duck. Part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho land opening in 1892, the county had gained rail lines by the early 1900s and highways by the 1930s. The county was named for James G. Blaine, an American politician who was the Republican presidential candidate in 1884 and Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison ".[6]
- Bryan
"Bryan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Durant. It is the only county in the United States named for Democratic politician William Jennings Bryan. Bryan County comprises the Durant, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth and the Texoma region, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area. It is home to the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma located in Durant. Bryan County consists of 10 Townships: Albany, Bennington, Bokchito, Brown, Caddo, Calera, Colbert, Kemp, Matoy, and Speairs Townships."[7]
- Caddo
"Caddo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Anadarko. Created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory, the county is named for the Caddo tribe who were settled here on a reservation in the 1870s. Caddo County is immediately west of the seven-county Greater Oklahoma City metro area, and although is not officially in the metro area, it has many economic ties in this region. Caddo County was organized on August 6, 1901, when the Federal Government allotted the Kiowa, Comanche, and Arapaho reservations and sold the surplus land to white settlers. The reservation land was part of Oklahoma Territory until Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907. Part of its land was taken at statehood to form neighboring Grady County. Some additional land was taken in 1911 and also awarded to Grady County"[8]
- Canadian
"Canadian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is El Reno. The county is named for the Canadian River. In 1859, the U.S. Government moved the Caddo of Louisiana from its Brazos reservation in Texas to what would eventually become Canadian County, Oklahoma. Showetat, the last hereditary chief of the Caddos set up his camp near the present Union City, and is considered Canadian County's first permanent resident. The Wichita tribe were relocated to the same part of Indian Territory in 1861. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge gave the land west of the Caddos and Wichitas to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, They moved from Colorado in 1869. The Cheyenne-Arapaho Agency (later renamed the Darlington Agency) was established in 1870."[9]
- Carter
"Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Ardmore. The county was named for Captain Ben W. Carter, a Cherokee who lived among the Chickasaw. Prior to statehood, the present Carter County, Oklahoma, was part of Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation of Indian Territory. After the Civil War, the government of the United States forced the Chickasaw government to allow railroads built across its territory."[10]
- Cherokee
"Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Tahlequah, which is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, states that it was created from the Tahlequah District of the Cherokee Nation in 1906. The Cherokee moved to this area as a result of the forced relocation brought about by the Indian Removal Act of 1830, also known as Trail Of Tears. The first significant settlements were at the site of Park Hill, where there was already a mission community, and Tahlequah, which became the seat of Cherokee government. However, the Civil War divided the tribe and caused many of the early structures to be destroyed. Non-Indians began moving into the area illegally starting in the mid-1870s, and became the majority by the 1890s."[11]
- Choctaw
"Choctaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Hugo. The county was created in 1907, at the time of Oklahoma statehood. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the name is derived from Chahta, the mythical founder of the Choctaw people. The Choctaw Nation moved into the area now occupied by Choctaw County in 1831-1832, as a result of their forcible expulsion from the Southeastern United States. The U.S. Army had already established Fort Towson in the area in 1824 and took on the mission of protecting the newcomers from other tribes. In 1837, the Chickasaws settled the area around Doaksville, which was adjacent to the fort. Both the town of Fort Towson and Doaksville served as the capital of the Choctaw Nation. Doaksville became a ghost town after the Civil War. In 1848, the Presbyterian church established a mission, which still exists and is now known as Goodland Academy"[12]
- Cimarron
"Cimarron County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City. Located in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Cimarron County contains the only community in the state (Kenton) that observes the Mountain Time Zone. Black Rock Mesa, the highest point in the state, Cimarron County was created at statehood in 1907. Before the Oklahoma Organic Act was passed in 1890, the area had belonged to what was known as "No Man's Land," also referred to as the "Public Land Strip." This was a relatively lawless area, with no organized government, and several outlaws sought refuge within its borders. In 1890, the strip became known as Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory. Informally, it was known as the "Oklahoma Panhandle." "[13]
- Cleveland
"Cleveland County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Norman. The county was named after U.S. President Grover Cleveland. Originally occupied by the Quapaw tribe, the Quapaw ceded the area to the U.S. Government soon after the Louisiana Purchase in 1818. During the late 1820s and 1830s, the area was given to the Creek and Seminole tribes after their forced removal from the southeastern United States. An agreement between the two tribes resulted in this area being part of the Seminole Nation, located west of the Creek Nation. In 1866, these tribes were forced to cede the area to the Federal Government for siding with the Confederacy during the American Civil War[citation needed]. The area became part of the Unassigned Lands and was opened for white settlement on April 22, 1889."[14]
- Coal
"Coal County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Coalgate. Coal County was formed at statehood from the former Shappaway County (later renamed Atoka County) of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory."[15]
- Comanche
"Comanche County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Lawton. The county was created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory. It was named for the Comanche tribe."[16]
- Cotton
"Cotton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. When Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907, the area which is now Cotton County fell within the boundaries of Comanche County. It was split off in 1912, becoming the last county created in Oklahoma; it was named for the county's primary crop."[17]
- Craig
"Craig County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Vinita. The county was organized in 1907, shortly before statehood, and named for Granville Craig, a prominent Cherokee farmer who lived in the Bluejacket area."[18]
- Creek
"Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Sapulpa. European explorers traveled through this area early in the 19th Century, after the Louisiana Purchase. In 1825, the Osage Nation ceded the territory where the Federal Government planned to resettle the Creek Nation and other tribes after their expulsion from the Southeastern part of the United States. The Creeks began migrating into this area, where they and their black slaves settled to begin farming and raising cattle. In 1835, Federal soldiers under Captain J. L. Dawson built the Dawson Road, following an old Osage hunting trail."[19]
- Custer
"Custer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Arapaho. The county was named in honor of General George Armstrong Custer. Custer County was formed in 1891 as an original county from Cheyenne land and called G County. On November 6, 1896, it was renamed Custer County after General George Armstrong Custer, who had massacred the Southern Cheyenne Indians at the Battle of the Washita 20 miles west in Roger Mills County, and was killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn. The county was settled by white settlers during the third official land run of April 19, 1892. On this day the first newspaper of the county appeared, the Arapaho Arrow."[20]
- Delaware
"Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Jay. The county was named for the Delaware Indians who had established a village in the area prior to the arrival of the Cherokees in Indian Territory in the 1830s. Delaware County was created in 1907. Prior to becoming Delaware County, a large portion of the area was known as the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation. Today, Delaware County continues to be recognized by the Cherokee Nation as the Delaware District."[21]
- Dewey
"Dewey County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Taloga. The county was created in 1891 as "County D". In an 1898 election, county voters chose the name Dewey, honoring Admiral George Dewey"[22]
- Ellis
"Ellis County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Arnett. The county was named for Albert H. Ellis, vice president of the 1906 Constitutional Convention."[23]
- Garfield
"Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Enid is the county seat and largest city within Garfield County.The county is named after President James A. Garfield." [24]
- Garvin
"Garvin County is in south-central Oklahoma. Its county seat is Pauls Valley. In 1906, delegates to Constitution Convention formed Garvin County from part of the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory The county was named for Samuel J. Garvin, a local Chickasaw rancher, merchant and banker. Its economy is largely based on farming, ranching and oil production."[25]
- Grady
"Grady County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Chickasha. It was named for Henry W. Grady, an editor of the Atlanta Constitution and southern orator."[26]
- Grant
"Grant County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Medford, Originally designated as part of the Cherokee Outlet, it was named County L in Oklahoma Territory at the time of its opening to non-Indian settlement. A county election renamed it for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant."[27]
- Greer
"Greer County is a county located along the southwest border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Mangum. From 1860 to 1896, the state of Texas claimed an area known as Greer County, Texas, which included present-day Greer County along with neighboring areas. In 1896 it was designated as a county in Oklahoma Territory under a ruling by the US Supreme Court. The county was named for former Texas lieutenant governor, John A. Greer."[28]
- Harmon
"Harmon County is a county located in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Hollis, Following an election on May 22, 1909, Harmon County was created by proclamation of Governor Lee Cruce on June 2. Carved from adjacent Greer County, the new county was named in honor of Judson Harmon, who was Governor of Ohio at the time. The area now covered by Harmon County had been a part of Texas until the U. S. Supreme Court awarded it to Oklahoma Territory in 1896."[29]
- Harper
"Harper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Buffalo. It was created in 1907 from the northwestern part of Woodward County, and named for Oscar Green Harper, who was clerk of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention."[30]
- Haskell
"Haskell County is a county located in the southeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Stigler. The county is named in honor of Charles N. Haskell, who was the first governor of Oklahoma."[31]
- Hughes
"Hughes County is a county located in south-central U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Holdenville. The county was named for W. C. Hughes, an Oklahoma City lawyer who was a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention."[32]
- Jackson
"Jackson County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Altus. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the county was named for two historical figures: President Andrew Jackson and Confederate General Stonewall Jackson."[33]
- Jefferson
"Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Waurika. The county was created at statehood and named in honor of President Thomas Jefferson."[34]
- Johnston
"Johnston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Tishomingo. It was established at statehood on November 16, 1907 and named for Douglas H. Johnston, a governor of the Chickasaw Nation."[35]
- Kay
"Kay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Newkirk, and the largest city is Ponca City. Before statehood, Kay County was formed from the “Cherokee Strip” or “Cherokee Outlet” and originally designated as county “K.” Its name means simply that."[36]
- Kingfisher
"Kingfisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Kingfisher. The county was formed in 1890 and named Kingfisher by a vote of residents. The land was given to the Creek Nation by the federal government but was taken back after the American Civil War."[37]
- Kiowa
"Kiowa County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Hobart. The county was created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory. It was named for the Kiowa people. n 1892, the Jerome Commission began enrolling the Kiowas, Comanches and Apaches to prepare for the opening of their reservation to settlement by whites. Dennis Flynn, the territorial representative to the U. S. Congress, proposed holding a lottery for opening the reservation. He argued successfully that the lottery would be safer and more orderly than land runs used earlier. Individuals could register at offices in Lawton or El Reno. 165,000 individuals registered for 13,000 160-acre claims. The drawing was held August 6, 1901. After the opening, the area was designated as Kiowa County in Oklahoma Territory. The town of Hobart, named for Vice President Garrett A. Hobart, was designated as county seat."[38]
- Latimer
"Latimer County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Wilburton.The county was created at statehood in 1907 and named for James L. Latimer, a delegate from Wilburton to the 1906 state Constitutional Convention. Prior to statehood, it had been for several decades part of Gaines County, Choctaw Nation."[39]
- Le Flore
"Le Flore County is a county located along the eastern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Poteau, The name honors a Choctaw family named LeFlore."[40]
- Lincoln
"Lincoln County is a county in eastern Central Oklahoma. Its county seat is Chandler. The voters chose the name Lincoln County for County A in honor of President Abraham Lincoln."[41]
- Logan
"Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Guthrie. The county was named on August 5, 1890 for U. S. Senator, John A. Logan, of Illinois."[42]
- Love
"Love County is a county on the southern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Marietta. The county was created at statehood in 1907 and named for Overton Love, a prominent Chickasaw farmer, entrepreneur and politician"[43]
- McClain
"McClain County is a county located in south-central Oklahoma. Its county seat is Purcell. The county was named for Charles M. McClain, an Oklahoma constitutional convention attendee."[44]
- McCurtain
"McCurtain County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. The name honors an influential Choctaw family that lived in the area. Green McCurtain was the last chief when the Choctaw Nation was dissolved before Oklahoma became a state in 1907"[45]
- McIntosh
"McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Eufaula. The county is named for an influential Muscogee Creek family, whose members led the migration of the Lower Towns to Indian Territory and served as leaders for generations.n 1825, the Creek of the Lower Towns in the territory of present-day Georgia, led by William McIntosh, agreed by the Treaty of Indian Springs with the United States, to exchange their land in Georgia for land in Indian Territory. These Creek were a historic people who had originated in the Southeast and were part of the larger Creek Confederacy for centuries. Much of their new territory was included in what later became McIntosh County. Chief McIntosh was executed in Georgia in 1825 by order of the Creek National Council, which had forbidden such land cessions without agreement by the full council."[46]
- Major
"Major County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Fairview. The county was created in 1907. Named for John Charles Major, a representative to the state's 1906 Constitutional Convention, the area was originally settled by large numbers of Kansas Mennonites. One county town, Meno, received its name from an early leader of the Mennonite movement, Menno Simons."[47]
- Marshall
"Marshall County is a county located on the south central border of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Madill. The county was created at statehood in 1907 from the former Pickens County of the Chickasaw Nation. It was named to honor the maiden name of the mother of George Henshaw, a member of the 1906 Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. The county and its cities are part of the Texoma region."[48]
- Mayes
"Mayes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Pryor Creek. Named for Samuel Houston Mayes, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899, it was originally created at the Sequoyah Convention in August 1905."[49]
- Murray
"Murray County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Sulphur. The county was named for William H. Murray, a member and president of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention and later a Governor of Oklahoma."[50]
- Muskogee
"Muskogee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Muskogee. The county and city were named for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The official spelling of the name was changed to Muskogee by the post office in 1900."[51]
- Noble
"Noble County is located in the north central part of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Perry. It was part of the Cherokee Outlet in Indian Territory until Oklahoma Territory was created in 1890, and the present county land was designated as County P. After the U. S. government opened the area to non-Indian settlement in 1893, it was renamed Noble County for John Willock Noble, then the Secretary of the Interior. Timothy McVeigh was arrested in Noble County in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing. The act killed 168 people. Subsequently, McVeigh was tried, convicted and executed for the crime. The arresting officer was later elected sheriff of Noble County."[52]
- Nowata
"Nowata County is a county located in northeastern Oklahoma. Its county seat is Nowata. The county name is derived from a Delaware word "no-we-ata," meaning "come here" or "welcome". It is located on the Kansas border."[53]
- Okfuskee
"Okfuskee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Okemah. The county is named for a former Muscogee town in present Cleburne County, Alabama, that in turn was named for the Okfuskee, a Muscogee tribe."[54]
- Oklahoma
"Oklahoma County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital."[55]
- Okmulgee
"Okmulgee County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Okmulgee. Formerly part of the Creek Nation, the county was created at statehood in 1907. The name Okmulgee is derived from the Hitichita (Lower Creek) word okimulgi, meaning "boiling waters""[56]
- Osage
Osage County is the largest county by area in Oklahoma in the United States. Created in 1907 when Oklahoma was admitted as a state, the county is named for and is home to the federally recognized Osage Nation. The county seat is in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.[57]
- Ottawa
"Ottawa County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Miami. The county was named for the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma."[58]
- Pawnee
"Pawnee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Pawnee. The county is named after the Pawnee Tribe.[59]
- Payne
"Payne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Stillwater.The county was created in 1890 as part of Oklahoma Territory and is named for Capt. David L. Payne, a leader of the "Boomers"."[60]
- Pittsburg
"Pittsburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. . Its county seat is McAlester. The county was formed from part of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory in 1907. County leaders believed that its coal production compared favorably with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time of statehood."[61]
- Pontotoc
"Pontotoc County is in the south central part of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Ada. The county was created at statehood from part of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory. It was named for a historic Chickasaw tribal area in Mississippi. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Pontotoc is usually translated "cattail prairie" or "land of hanging grapes.""[62]
- Pottawatomie
"Pottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A Its county seat is Shawnee.Pottawatomie County was carved out of land originally given to the Creek and Seminole after their forced removal from Georgia and Florida. After the Civil War, the Creek and Seminole were forced to cede their lands back to the federal government, and the area of Pottawatomie County was used to resettle the Iowa, Sac and Fox, Absentee Shawnee, Potawatomi and Kickapoo tribes."[63]
- Pushmataha
"Pushmataha County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Antlers. The county was created at statehood from part of the former territory of the Choctaw Nation, which had its capital at the town of Tuskahoma. Planned by the Five Civilized Tribes as part of a state of Sequoyah, the new Oklahoma state also named the county for Pushmataha, an important Choctaw chief in the American Southeast. He had tried to ensure that his people would not have to cede their lands, but died in Washington, DC during a diplomatic trip in 1824. The Choctaw suffered Indian Removal to Indian Territory."[64]
- Roger Mills
"Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was created in 1891. Roger Mills County takes its name from Roger Q. Mills, a senator from Texas. The town of Cheyenne in Roger Mills County is the location of the Battle of Washita River (also called Battle of the Washita; Washita Battlefield and the Washita Massacre), where George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Chief Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village on the Washita River on November 26, 1868."[65]
- Rogers
"Rogers County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Claremore, making it the sixth-largest county in Oklahoma based on population. Upon statehood in 1908, the district was designated as a county named Cooweescoowee. Residents supported renaming the county in honor of Clement Vann Rogers, an early Cherokee settler and prominent rancher here."[66]
- Seminole
"Seminole County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Wewoka. Before Oklahoma's admission as a state, the county was the entire small portion of Indian Territory allocated to the Seminole people, who were removed from Florida in the 1820s."[67]
- Sequoyah
"Sequoyah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat is Sallisaw. Sequoyah County was created in 1907 when Oklahoma became a state. It was named after Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee syllabary."[68]
- Stephens
"Stephens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Duncan. The county was created at statehood, partly from the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory and partly from Comanche County in Oklahoma Territory. It was named for Texas politician John Hall Stephens."[69]
- Texas
"Texas County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Guymon. It is the second-largest county in the state, based on land area, and is named for Texas, the state that adjoins the county to its south."[70]
- Tillman
"Tillman County is a county located in the southwestern part of Oklahoma. The county seat is Frederick. The county was founded at the time of Oklahoma statehood in 1907, and was named for Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina. It had previously been part of Comanche County, Oklahoma Territory. Frederick was designated as the county seat at the time of statehood. In 1910 and 1924 portions of Kiowa County were added to the north side of the county."[71]
- Tulsa
"Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. . Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the second-largest city in the state. Founded at statehood, in 1907, it was named after the previously established city of Tulsa. Before statehood, the area was part of both the Creek Nation and the Cooweescoowee District of Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory."[72]
- Wagoner
"Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Wagoner. In 1905, the Sequoyah Convention proposed creating two counties from this area. The western half would be named Coweta and the eastern half would have been named Tumechichee. However, failure of the attempt to create the state of Sequoyah negated the proposal. In 1907 at Oklahoma Statehood, Wagoner County was organized. The towns of Porter and Coweta vied with Wagoner as the county seat. The county was named after the town of Wagoner, which won the election. The town was named after Henry "Bigfoot" Wagoner, a Katy Railroad dispatcher from Parsons, Kansas."[73]
- Washington
"Washington County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Bartlesville. Named for President George Washington, it is the second smallest county in Oklahoma." [74]
- Washita
"Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891. In 1883, John Miles leased 3,000,000 acres of Cheyenne and Arapaho land to seven cattlemen. However, arguments soon developed between the cattlemen and the tribesmen. In 1885, the Federal government terminated all of the leases and ordered the cattlemen to remove their stock. The area was settled in 1886 when John Seger established a colony along Cobb Creek. Seger convinced 120 Cheyenne and Arapaho to settle near the old ranch headquarters at Cobb Creek. The intent was that "Seger's Colony" would teach these tribes how to farm, using modern agricultural methods. The name, Seger's Colony, would be shortened and become the present day town of Colony, Oklahoma. After the government declared the excess lands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation available for non-Indian settlement, the Cheyenne-Arapaho Opening was made available to homesteading on April 19, 1892, in the Land Run of 1892. "[75]
- Woods
"Woods County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Alva. The county is named after Samuel Newitt Wood, a renowned Kansas populist.The known explorer of the area now contained within Woods County was George C. Sibley, who traveled through in 1811. He visited a salt formation near the present town of Freedom, Oklahoma, then followed the Mountain Fork of the Arkansas River southeastward to the Great Salt Plains. In 1843, Nathan Boone traveled along the Cimarron River. "[76]
- Woodward
"Woodward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Woodward. Woodward County was originally known as "N" County and was composed of present-day Woodward County and portions of Harper, Ellis, and Woods County. Before its division at statehood, Woodward County, then 60 miles square, was the westernmost county of the Cherokee Outlet and adjoined Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle on the west and Kansas on the north. Political pressure applied by William H. Murray during Oklahoma's Constitutional Convention resulted in the reduction of the size of Woodward County to its present boundaries. It is unknown exactly whom the county (and the town) is named after, but the two leading candidates are Brinton W. Woodward, a Santa Fe railway director, or Richard Woodward, a buffalo hunter."[77]
