Coweta, Oklahoma

Oklahoma Farmers parade in downtown Coweta, 1905

Before statehood, when the Five Tribes or Five Civilized Tribes were moved to Oklahoma from the Eastern United States, the area that is now Coweta became part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Coweta was named after a Lower Creek town on the Chattahoochee River in southwestern Georgia and was first settled by Muscogees about 1840. In 1843 Robert Loughridge arrived in the area and established a mission, named "Koweta". Loughridge left Koweta in 1850 to supervise the newly completed Tullahassee Manual Labor School. Koweta closed in 1861.[6]

In 1867 after the Civil War, the Creek Indians adopted a constitution which divided their nation into six districts. Everything northeast of the Arkansas River, including Tulsa, became the Coweta district. The political center of this district was located in a log courthouse on Coweta Creek, about a quarter mile west from the modern day center of the downtown Coweta. The Post Office was established on May 24, 1897, and took its name from Koweta Mission.[7] As a result of negotiations with the Congress appointed Dawes Commission regarding the allotment of tribal lands in 1898, the Creek courts’ jurisdiction was turned over to the Federal government.

Many notable events occurred in 1903. Along with the arrival of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, Coweta's first newspaper, The Courier, was started, the first school was built, and a telephone line was installed.[6]

Coweta is located at 35°57′47″N 95°39′42″W (35.963155, -95.661586).[8] Coweta is on the Arkansas River, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Tulsa and 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Muskogee.[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles (20 km²), of which 7.6 square miles (20 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (1.56%) is water.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 7,139 people, 2,582 households, and 1,988 families residing in the city. The population density was 942.1 people per square mile (363.6/km²). There were 2,827 housing units at an average density of 373.1 per square mile (144.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.78% White, 4.08% African American, 11.85% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 6.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.80% of the population.

There were 2,582 households, out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,255, and the median income for a family was $41,786. Males had a median income of $32,348 versus $21,772 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,960. About 6.2% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

The Coweta Public School District is the 29th largest school district in the state and as of October 2007 the district had 3,161 pre kindergarten through 12th grade students enrolled in 6 different schools, the district is also the largest in Wagoner County.[11]

Coweta has one newspaper, the Coweta American. The paper is published every Wednesday. It is owned by BH Media Group.

Historically, Coweta's economy was based on agriculture until the 1960s. Production of grain is still important, but cotton acreage has decreased greatly. Now, the city's largest employers are: Coweta school system, Wal-Mart (one retail store) and the City of Coweta. Many employed residents now commute to Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Muskogee.[6]

Coweta has a council-manager form of government.[6]

The Coweta Mission Bell Museum.

Coweta is home to two sites on the National Register of Historic Places list. The first is the Koweta Mission Site. The mission was added to the NRHP in 1973, today only a cemetery remains. The second historical site located in Coweta is the First Presbyterian Church of Coweta, commonly known as the Mission Bell Museum. The Mission Bell Museum was added to the NRHP in 2003 and is owned and operated by the city of Coweta.

• Bill Bright, William R. "Bill" Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003), founder of Campus Crusade
• Rick Bryan, (March 20, 1962 - July 25, 2009), 2-time All-American Oklahoma Sooners, 9-years NFL Atlanta Falcons
• Bruce Cowling (1919-1986), actor, born in Coweta
• Crooked X, a rock band discovered on the CBS television's The Early Show
• Lilah Denton Lindsey, civic leader and women's club organizer
• George Milburn (1903 - 1966), author, was born and raised in Coweta.[6]
• Louis Oliver (April 9, 1904 – May 10, 1991), Creek poet
• Donald P. Sloat (1949 - 1970), born in Coweta, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor for act of valor in Vietnam War
• Stephanie Hollman (June 13, 1980), born in Coweta, known for The Real Housewives of Dallas.
• Florence Rose, indie rock band from Coweta. (2018-current)

• Koweta Mission Site

• City of Coweta
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Coweta