According to archaeological studies, prehistoric people lived in this area as long ago as the Paleo-Indian period (before 6,000 B. C.). However, archaeologists have made more extensive studies of those people known as the Mound Builders who lived here during the Caddoan Stage (A.D. 300 – 1200).[3]
One of the first Europeans to come to this area was Jean Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe. He was a French explorer and trader who discovered a Wichita village in 1719. By the end of the 18th century the Wichita had been driven away by the more warlike Osage, who used this as their hunting ground. Auguste Pierre Chouteau and other fur traders had established a settlement at the Three Forks. Early in the 19th century, Cherokee and Choctaw hunting parties made incursions that caused frequent conflict with the Osage. In 1824, the U.S. Army established Fort Gibson on the Grand River to dampen the conflict. The town of Fort Gibson that grew up just outside the fort claims to be the oldest town in Oklahoma.[3]
At the start of the U. S. Civil War, Confederate troops of the Cherokee and Creek Home Guards built Fort Davis, across the Arkansas River from Fort Gibson. Federal troops attacked and destroyed Fort Davis in 1862, driving the Confederates from this area, although a few skirmishes occurred later in the war at Bayou Menard Skirmish (1862), several at Webbers Falls (1862), and the Creek Agency Skirmish (1863).[3]
The county was formed at statehood with land from the Muskogee District of the Creek Nation and the Canadian and Illinois Districts of the Cherokee Nation.[3] A post office named Muscogee had been established January 17, 1872. The official spelling of the name was changed to Muskogee on July 19, 1900.[4]
After the Civil War, the Five Civilized Tribes, which included the Creeks, agreed to new treaties with the federal government. Among other provisions, they ceded their western lands back to the government and allowed rights of way to railroads. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (also called MKT or Katy) built a line into Indian Territory, near the Three Forks. Although railroad officials intended to build a depot at the site of Fort Davis, the terrain proved unsuitable, so they relocated the depot, which they named Muscogee, farther south. They also began the town of Oktaha 11 miles (18km) farther south, in the same year.[3]
Other railroads followed, such as the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (1888, later the Missouri Pacific Railway), the Midland Valley Railroad (1904–05), the Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway (1901–03, sold to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, Frisco), the Shawnee, Oklahoma and Missouri Coal and Railway (1902–03, sold to the Frisco), the Muskogee Union Railway (1903–04, sold to the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway [MOG]), and the MOG (1903–05, which became the Texas and Pacific Railroad).[3]
In 1874, the federal government consolidated all of the Five Civilized Tribes agencies into one Union Agency, located just west of Muscogee. In 1889, a federal district court was created in Muscogee. In 1894, the Dawes Commission also established its headquarters there.[3]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 840 square miles (2,200km2), of which 810 square miles (2,100km2) is land and 29 square miles (75km2) (3.5%) is water.[5]
The western part of the county is prairie grassland, while the eastern part rises into the Cookson Hills, on the western edge of the Ozark Mountains. The Arkansas, Verdigris and Grand rivers all converge in the county, causing that area to be called "Three Forks."[3]Webbers Falls Lake on the Arkansas River covers part of the county.[3]
The Arkansas River in Muskogee County. The Webbers Falls Lock and Dam on the river are part of the navigation system on the river, maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 69,451 people, 26,458 households, and 18,467 families living in the county. The population density was 33/km2 (85/sqmi). There were 29,575 housing units at an average density of 14/km2 (36/sqmi). The racial makeup of the county was 63.73% White, 13.16% Black or African American, 14.88% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.19% other races, and 6.43% from two or more races. 2.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 26,458 households, of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals; 12.30% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51, and the average family size was 3.03.
The age distribution of the population was 25.90% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.90 males.
The median income of households in the county was $28,438, and the median income per family was $34,793. Males had a median income of $28,670 versus $20,457 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,828. About 14.10% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.00% of those under age 18 and 14.70% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton 62%-33% in 2016, which was a sharp right-turn from the competitive totals from Barack Obama's efforts in the prior two elections. Trump went on to beat Joe Biden by an even greater margin in 2020.
In February 2022, Republicans held a plurality of registered voters in Muskogee County for the first time in recent history.[13]
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023[14]
At statehood, the economy was based primarily on agriculture and ranching. The main crops in the county were corn, cotton, and wheat. Agricultural service industries consisted mainly of cotton gins, grain mills, and stockyards. Cotton production declined dramatically during the Great Depression and was replaced by soybeans, wheat, feed grains, and grasses. Truck farming became important during and after World War II, leading to the development of a canning and food-processing industry.[3]
Other economic activities included oil, gas, and coal production, but these activities never reached the levels achieved in other regions. Sand and gravel pits, along with brick and glass manufacturing, developed and remained important employment sources. O. W. Coburn built an optical business that became one of the largest in the nation and employed hundreds of workers. Other industrialists included the Buddrus family, who began Acme Engineering, and the Rooney family who founded Manhattan Construction. State and federal employment has long been important, primarily in education and veterans' services. Light manufacturing and health care as well as social services provide jobs for residents. The town of Taft has two state correctional facilities, Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center for women and Jess Dunn Correctional Center for men.[3]
Steamboats had plied the Arkansas River throughout much of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, dedicated in 1971, opening the Arkansas and Verdigris rivers to year-round commercial traffic and leading to the development of the Port of Muskogee.[3]
Education
Education was a high priority after the Civil War, with schools started by churches, private individuals, and the Cherokee and Creek nations. Higher educational opportunities were offered after 1880 when Bacone College, Oklahoma's oldest, began as Indian University in Tahlequah, but was moved to the Creek Nation in present Muskogee County in 1885. Evangel Mission, a school at Union Agency for Creek freedmen, operated in the 1880s and now houses the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee. A facility for educating visually impaired people opened at Fort Gibson in 1898. Later moved to Muskogee, it became the Oklahoma School for the Blind. Minerva Home, a school for girls in Muskogee, became Henry Kendall College in 1894, which moved to Tulsa and became the University of Tulsa in 1920. Northeastern State University opened a branch campus in Muskogee in 1994.[3]
Tom Coburn (b. 1948), lived in Muskogee; served in U. S. House of Representatives (1995–2001); served as U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (1995–2014);
Drew Edmondson (b. 1946), was elected attorney general for Oklahoma (1995–2011); ran unsuccessfully for governor of Oklahoma in 2010 and 2018.
Edmond Edmondson (1919–1990), served the Second Congressional District, which includes Muskogee County, from 1953 to 1973.
James Howard Edmondson (1925–1971), born in Muskogee, served as Oklahoma governor (1959–63) and senator (1963–64).
Charles N. Haskell (1860–1933), settled in Muskogee in 1901 and became a leader at the Sequoyah Convention and Oklahoma's first governor in 1907.
Robert L. Owen (1856–1947), a Cherokee, served as the U.S. agent to the Five Civilized Tribes in Muskogee. In 1907 he became one of Oklahoma's first U.S. senators.
Pleasant Porter (1840–1907), principal chief of the Creek Nation, negotiated the allotment treaty with the Dawes Commission. He served as president of the Sequoyah Convention.
Alexander Posey (1873–1908), a Creek poet and newspaper editor in Muskogee, was secretary of the Sequoyah Convention and is credited with writing most of that constitution.
Alice M. Robertson (1854–1931), the first woman appointed postmaster of a Class A post office in the United States, in 1920 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the second woman in the United States to hold a congressional seat and was the only woman to serve Oklahoma in Congress until Mary Fallin was elected in 2006.
Belle Starr (1848–1899), American outlaw; lived in the Cookson Hills in eastern Muskogee County.
Mike Synar (1950–1996) served in Congress from 1979 to 1995.
Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,981. Its county seat is Wagoner.
Sequoyah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,281. 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 and its written language.
Pushmataha County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,812. Its county seat is Antlers.
McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,941. 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.
Mayes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,046. 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.
LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,129. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choctaw family named LeFlore. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma is the federal district court with jurisdiction in LeFlore County.
Haskell County is a county located in the southeast quadrant of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,561. Its county seat is Stigler. The county is named in honor of Charles N. Haskell, the first governor of Oklahoma.
Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,078. Its county seat is Tahlequah, which is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
Tahlequah is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as part of the new settlement in Indian Territory after the Cherokee Native Americans were forced west from the American Southeast on the Trail of Tears.
Haskell is a city, as of March 2024, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,007 at the 2010 census, a gain of 13.7 percent over the figure of 1,765 recorded in 2000. Haskell was established in 1904 on the Midland Valley Railroad. It was named for town site developer Charles N. Haskell, who would become the first governor of the State of Oklahoma in 1907.
Muskogee is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately 48 miles (77 km) southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0% decrease from 39,223 in 2010.
Gore is a town in western Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 977 at the 2010 census, an increase of 15 percent over the figure of 850 recorded in 2000.
Sallisaw is a city and county seat in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 8,510, a 4.2 percent decrease over the figure of 8,880 recorded in 2010. Sallisaw is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Vian is a town in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States, adjacent to Interstate 40 at the intersection of U.S. Route 64 and Oklahoma State Highway 82. The population was 1,374 at the 2020 census, a 6.3 percent decline from the figure of 1,466 recorded in 2010. It is part of the Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Fort Gibson is a town in Cherokee and Muskogee counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 3,814 as of the 2020 Census. It is the location of Fort Gibson Historical Site and Fort Gibson National Cemetery and is located near the end of the Cherokees' Trail of Tears at Tahlequah.
Pleasant Porter, was an American Indian statesman and the last elected Principal Chief of the Creek Nation, serving from 1899 until his death.
The Tulsa metropolitan area, officially defined as the Tulsa metropolitan statistical area is a metropolis in northeastern Oklahoma centered around the city of Tulsa and encompassing Tulsa, Rogers, Wagoner, Osage, Creek, Okmulgee and Pawnee counties. It had a population of 1,044,757 according to the 2023 U.S. census estimates.
The Sequoyah Constitutional Convention was an American Indian-led attempt to secure statehood for Indian Territory as an Indian-controlled jurisdiction, separate from the Oklahoma Territory. The proposed state was to be called the State of Sequoyah.
The history of Muskogee refers to the history of the region in which the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma now lies. Muskogee's history begins before its official incorporation in 1898. Prior to becoming an incorporated city, it was named in honor of the Creek Nation in the 19th century. It was opened to white settlers with the Land Run.
Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart is a Muscogee (Creek) art educator, fashion designer, and artist. After graduating from the Chilocco Indian School and taking courses at the University of Arizona, she earned a degree from Oklahoma State University and began working as a teacher. After a six-year stint working for Fine Arts Diversified, she returned to teaching in 1979 in Washington, Oklahoma. Primarily known as a painter, using watercolor or acrylic media, Fife-Stewart has also been involved in fashion design. Her works have been shown mostly in the southwestern United States and have toured South America. Having won numerous awards for her artworks, she was designated as a Master Artist by the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in 1997.
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