Tulsa, Okla.
Mayor: Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr. (to Dec. 2017) 2010 census population (rank): 391,906 (46); Male: 190,944 (48.7%); Female: 200,962 (51.3%); White: 245,309 (62.6%); Black: 62,164 (15.9%); American Indian and Alaska Native: 20,817 (5.3%); Asian: 9,077 (2.3%); Other race: 31,219 (8.0%); Two or more races: 23,004 (5.9%); Hispanic/Latino: 55,266 (14.1%). 2010 percent population 18 and over: 75.5%; 65 and over: 12.5%; Median age: 34.7. 2014 population estimate (rank): 391,906 (47) Land area: 183 sq mi. (474 sq km); Alt.: 674 ft. Avg. daily temp.: Jan., 35.2° F; July, 83.3° F Churches: Protestant, 290; Roman Catholic, 40; Jewish, 3; others, 4; City parks and playgrounds: 128 (5,987 ac.); Radio stations: AM, 10; FM, 16; Television stations: 7 commercial; 1 PBS; 123 cable Civilian Labor Force (MSA) April 2015: 473,800; Unemployed (April 2015): 18,000, Percent (April 2015): 3.8; Per capita personal income 2013: $27,089 Chamber of Commerce: Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, 2 West Second St., Ste. 150, Tulsa, OK 74103 |
Tulsa, the second-largest city in Oklahoma and seat of Tulsa County, is located in the northeast part of the state on the Arkansas River.
Tulsa was settled in the 1830s by Creek Indians from Alabama who were forcibly sent to the area (then part of Indian Territory) under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Creek medicine men planted ashes from their old home at the new site, and the Creeks named their new village “Tulsy,” meaning old town, in memory of their former home in Tallassee, Ala. In time, the village became the town of Tulsa.
The coming of the first railroad in 1882 attracted white settlers to Tulsa, and the town developed into a cattle-shipping center. When enormous oil deposits were discovered at nearby Red Fork in 1901 and at Glenn Pool in 1905, the city experienced rapid growth as a center of a booming petroleum industry. Tulsa was incorporated as a city in 1898 and chartered in 1908.
Tulsa is the center of the state's petroleum and telecommunications industries and has a diversified economy. Other important industries include aerospace, chemicals, computer parts, automobile glass, fabricated metals, and industrial machinery. The city became a major inland port when the Tulsa port of Catoosa opened in 1971.
See also Encyclopedia: Tulsa.
Selected famous natives and residents:
- Garth Brooks singer;
- Blake Edwards director;
- Paul Harvey commentator;
- Jennifer Jones actress;
- Henry R. Kravis investment banker;
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan senator;
- Tony Randall actor;
- Alfre Woodard actress;
- Judy Woodruff journalist.
