Owasso, Oklahoma

Owasso, Oklahoma
City
Shops in Owasso Shops in Owasso
Nickname(s): "The City Without Limits"
Location of within Tulsa County, and the state of Oklahoma Location of within Tulsa County, and the state of Oklahoma
Owasso, Oklahoma Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Counties	Tulsa, Rogers
Incorporated	1904 (town in Indian Territory); 1972 (city chartered in Oklahoma)
Government
• Mayor	Jeri Moberly
Area
• Total	16.31 sq mi (42.24 km2)
• Land	16.29 sq mi (42.19 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation	610 ft (186 m)
Population (2014)
• Total	33,773
• Density	2,073/sq mi (800/km2)
Time zone	Central (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	74055, 74073, 74021
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code	40-56650
GNIS feature ID	1096358
Website	www.cityofowasso.com

Owasso is a city in Rogers and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and a northern suburb of Tulsa. The population was 28,915 at the 2010 census. Originally settled in 1881 in Indian Territory, the town incorporated in 1904 just prior to Oklahoma statehood and was chartered as a city in 1972.

Scenes in The Outsiders film were shot in Owasso.

History

Owasso began as a settlement in 1881, located in the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory, near what is now 66th Street North and North 129th East Ave. It was called Elm Creek, and was named for Elm Creek, a tributary of Bird Creek. The first settler was H.T. (Tole) Richardson. In June 1893, plans began for a rail line to be extended south from Bartlesville to the cattle ranches in the vicinity of Bird Creek. At that time there were already several residences, a blacksmith shop, and a general store in the Elm Creek Settlement. Preston Ballard, owner of the general store, established a post office in the general store on February 10, 1898 and was appointed the first postmaster. The Joseph T. Barnes family moved to the settlement in 1897. Joseph and Luther Barnes bought the blacksmith shop in 1898. The first gas station was open in 1902 by Donovan Ranta.

In 1897, the Kansas, Oklahoma Central & Southwestern Railway Company acquired right-of-way approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the Elm Creek Settlement, dammed a natural spring to form a lake as a water supply for the rail line, & built a depot about a mile south of the lake. The depot was torn down in 1942. Late in 1898, Joseph & Luther Barnes moved their blacksmith shop to the new community. The shop became a temporary home for the Joseph Barnes family. It was the first residence officially moved to the new depot community. During 1898, many of the residents and businesses moved from the Elm Creek Settlement to the new community. Preston Ballard moved his post office and general store during that time. The new community became known as Elm Creek, since the post office retained its name.

The railroad completed its line in 1899. Its parent company, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, took over the line and property. The first train came into Elm Creek on November 1, 1899. As the land around the end of this railroad developed, the Osage Indian word Owasso, meaning “the end of the trail” or “turn around”, was adopted to identify the area because the rail line ended in a turnaround “Y” near the depot. The name of the Elm Creek post office was officially changed to Owasso on January 24, 1900. The rail line was not extended into Tulsa until 1905.

A plat of the original townsite of Owasso, Cherokee Nation, I.T. was signed by the Secretary of the Interior on March 26, 1904, in connection with the town’s incorporation. That plat shows three streets running north and south and eight streets running east and west. The north/south streets were named Oklahoma, Kansas & Missouri, and the east/west streets north of what is now Broadway were named for Union generals, while the east/west streets to the south were named for Confederate generals. These names were later changed; east/west streets are now identified by street numbers, and north/south streets are now named after trees. The original street names were changed to their present names around 1960.

By the time Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907, Owasso had a population of 379 within the town limits. The first newspaper was The Owasso Ledger, and was first published on August 7, 1903 by U. P. Wardrip. The subscription price was $1.00 per year, paid in advance. The Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company was granted a franchise on February 6, 1905 for the town’s first telephone exchange. Until the first water tower was erected in 1924, with Spavinaw as the water source, water came into town in barrels from the Owasso Lake and sold for $0.50 a barrel.

Owasso incorporated as a city on September 28, 1972.

Geography

Owasso is a northern suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, located in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma known as "Green Country" for its green vegetation, hills and lakes, which contrast the drier Great Plains region of central and western Oklahoma. The geographic coordinates of the city of Owasso are (36.290373, -95.828640). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.31 square miles (42.2 km²), 99.9% of which is land, the remainder being water.

Climate

Owasso lies in Tornado Alley and has a temperate climate of the humid subtropical variety (Köppen Cfa) with a yearly average temperature of 59 °F (15 °C) and an average precipitation of .

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	373		—
1920	379		1.6%
1930	416		9.8%
1940	371		−10.8%
1950	431		16.2%
1960	2,032		371.5%
1970	3,491		71.8%
1980	6,149		76.1%
1990	11,151		81.3%
2000	18,502		65.9%
2010	28,915		56.3%
Est. 2014	33,773		16.8%
Sources:

As of the census of 2010, there were 28,915 people, 10,689 households, and 7,807 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,775.3 people per square mile (712.2/km²). There were 7,004 housing units at an average density of 698.2 per square mile (269.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.4% White, 2.8% Black, 6.8% Native American, 1.8% Asian (0.7% Hmong, 0.3% Chinese, 0.3% Indian), 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.0% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population.

There were 10,689 households out of which 46.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.1% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $66,572, and the median income for a family was $76,044. The per capita income for the city was $27,634. About 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 30.8% holds a bachelor's degree or higher.

Media

Owasso's newspapers, the Owasso Reporter and the Owasso Progress, are both published weekly. Until 2015, The Reporter was owned by Community Publishers, a newspaper and Internet publisher and commercial printer that serves Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, The Tulsa World announced that its parent company BH Media, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, the Omaha-based investment holding company led by billionaire Warren Buffett had purchased several suburban newspapers, including the Owasso Reporter.

The Progress is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings.

Economy

Owasso became a bedroom community in the 1950s for Tulsa, which was only 12 miles (19 km) away. As Tulsa expanded, so did industry around Owasso, stimulating further growth. Industrial development proceeded through the 1980s and 1990s. Factories included American Airlines, with nine thousand employees, Nordam Group, with seventeen hundred, and Whirlpool, with twelve hundred and MCI WorldCom with twenty-two hundred.

Government

Owasso has a council-manager form of government.

Notable people

• Tommy Allsup, Rockabilly and Western swing musician, record producer.
• Randy Blake, kickboxer
• Jaime Bluma, former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.
• Randy Brogdon, former Oklahoma State Senator and former mayor of Owasso
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, country music singers, lived on a ranch east of Owasso for many years.
• Dylan Bundy, pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year.
• Dennis Byrd, defensive end for the New York Jets
• Russ Dugger, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver
• Brian Flynn, MLB pitcher Miami Marlins
• Vic Koenning, professional football linebacker and college coach
• Jon Kolb, offensive lineman with the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Pete Kozma, shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Rebecca Petty, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Rogers; former resident of Owasso
• Paul Smith, quarterback, won Wuerffel Trophy at University of Tulsa
• Aaron Colvin, cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars

Cultural references

The webcomic Penny Arcade mentions Owasso when one of the two main characters, Tycho Brahe, confesses that he once killed an old woman and buried her there.

The movie The Outsiders has the old Owasso High School (currently the Owasso 7th Grade Center) in the background. Another scene shows downtown Owasso (Main Street) in the background.

The movie Midnight Runaround features a scene shot in a barn on the west side of Owasso. The movie refers to the location as Sperry, Oklahoma which actually sits further west of Owasso.

The nonfictional novel War Wagon by Patrick Hamblin references Bird Creek in Owasso, Oklahoma as the location of a stash of gold coins hidden by the Confederate Army during a retreat. Original documentation mentions a rock outcropping over the creek but the actual treasure has yet to be discovered. In 1984 a single coin was found that renewed interest in this legend.

See also

• Owasso High School (The Rams)