Eufaula, Oklahoma

Eufaula, Oklahoma
City
Motto: "Where Pride Creates Progress"
Location of Eufaula shown in Oklahoma Location of Eufaula shown in Oklahoma
Eufaula, Oklahoma Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	McIntosh
Area
• Total	9.6 sq mi (24.9 km2)
• Land	6.6 sq mi (17.2 km2)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (7.8 km2)
Elevation	617 ft (188 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,813
• Density	397.8/sq mi (153.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	74432, 74461
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code	40-24650
GNIS feature ID	1092651
Website	cityofeufaulaok.com

Eufaula is a city in and county seat of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.6 percent from 2,639 in 2000. Eufaula is in the southern part of the county, 30 miles (48 km) north of McAlester and 32 miles (51 km) south of Muskogee.

The name "Eufaula" comes from the Eufaula tribe, part of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy. The town and county are within the jurisdiction of the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation, descendants of people who removed here from the American Southeast in the 1830s.

History

By 1800, the Creek had a village named Eufala, located on Eufaula Creek, near the present site of Talladega, Alabama. It was one of a group called their Upper Creek towns. Pickett's History of Alabama mentions an Indian town, belonging to the Creeks, which he calls Eufaulahatche. Little Eufauly is mentioned by one of the historians as early as 1792. Another Upper Creek town called Eufaula was located on the Tallapoosa River; the present town of Dadeville, Alabama developed near there. The Lower Creek also had a village named Eufala, located on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, within the limits of the present County of Quitman in Georgia. Another Lower Creek town called Eufaula was located on the Chattahoochee River, in what later became Henry County, Alabama.

Eufaula, Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), began to develop as a European-American town soon after the arrival of the (Katy) in 1872. Since 1832, after the U. S. Government had forced the Creeks to move to Indian Territory from their previous home in the Southeastern United States, Eufaula had been a well-known center of the Creek and frequent meeting place. They held pow-wows or Indian conferences in that vicinity during the early days of Creek settlement. G. W. Grayson, then Chief of the Creeks, his brother Samuel, George Stidham and others, persuaded the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway was to locate one of its stations at this site. The older Creek village was moved here to take advantage of the railroad. The town received its current name after George W. Ingall, Indian agent for the Five Civilized Tribes, suggested the name Eufaula, after the earlier Muscogee tribal town in Alabama. Eufaula incorporated as a town in Indian Territory by 1898.

D. B. Whitlow and Joseph Coody established the first store on the west side of the railroad, and the Graysons and G. E. Seales started a store on the east side about the same time. Dr. W. H. Bailey was the first physician and druggist to locate in the new town. Rev. R. C. McGee, a Presbyterian missionary, established one of the first churches in Eufaula. He served there as minister for many years. For many years before the American Civil War, the Asbury Mission School, located two miles northeast of Eufaula was the leading educational institution of that vicinity. It was burned in an accidental fire.

File:Image of Cornelius Emmet Foley of Eufaula, OK.jpg

C. E. Foley

Alexander Posey

Harmon Davis playing steel guitar

Between 1907 and 1909, the people of Eufaula were involved in a dispute with nearby Checotah known as the McIntosh County Seat War. After Checotah was designated as the new county seat, the people of Eufaula refused to hand over the county records. Soon after, a group of heavily armed men from Chectotah attempted to seize the records from the courthouse in Eufaula, but were beaten back and forced to surrender during the gunfight that followed. Eufaula was designated as the permanent seat of McIntosh County one year later.

Notable residents

• Brothers George W. and Samuel Grayson. Samuel Grayson was deeply interested in the education of his people. He supported himself by cattle raising and merchandising. He died in Eufaula in the early 2000s.

• George W. Grayson, the late Chief of the Creek Nation, died at about seventy-eight years of age. He was more than six feet tall and stood as straight as an arrow. He was born near Eufaula and had resided in the Creek Nation from his birth. He attended school at the old Asbury Mission in his youth and later the University of Arkansas. He acquired a good English education and also served as interpreter, as he was fluent in Creek. He served for several terms in the Creek Council, and as the Creek delegate to Congress.

• Charles Gibson (1846- ), merchant and reporter. He reared and educated several Creek orphans. Source: 1

• C. E. Foley, early white settler who was a businessman: banker and built a hotel.

• Alexander Posey (23 August 1873- 28 April 1908)(Creek), writer of prose and poetry. He attended local schools and the Bacone College at Muskogee. He adopted the nom-de-plume of "Chumubbie Harjo" in his writings. For several years he served as superintendent of the Creek Boarding School at Eufaula.

Harmon Davis

Harmon C. Davis grew up in rural Oklahoma. His family was always musically inclined, so he naturally learned how to play the guitar at a young age in his life. Later on, he learned to play the steel guitar, and mastered the instrument. He played in his brothers bluegrass band, Olen and The Bluegrass Traveler's, every weekend on his radio station, KCES FM. Harmon Davis had the first radio station in Southeastern Oklahoma. It was KCES FM. The station survived from the mid fifties until about 1999 when he sold the station to KFOX FM. The radio station was very important to the small town and was the Lake Eufaula Giant, the voice could be heard all over lake Eufaula by turning into the station 102.3. Olen Davis was inducted into the America's Old Time Country Hall of Fame (Iowa) in 2013.

Schools

The settlers of Eufaula demonstrated their interest in education by erecting a school on the east side of the railroad, and establishing a free school by voluntary taxation, before there was any law authorizing the levy of taxes for school purposes. As soon as the Curtis Act was passed by Congress, Eufaula took advantage of it by levying taxes and starting to build up a first class public school system, and to make other needed public improvements. The city now has paved streets, a splendid "White Way," five brick and stone schoolhouses, seven churches, a large cotton oil mill, light and ice plant, well built and attractive business blocks, three parks, a fine waterworks and sewage system, four banks, two hotels, the three story brick boarding school for Creek girls and an abundance of natural gas for domestic and commercial purposes. There is also a very active civic club whose purpose is to make the town a better place to live in, rather than to increase its numbers, an ambition which is concurred in generally by the 3,000 prosperous and contented people who live here. Source: 1

Jefferson Highway

When the Jefferson Highway was first located through Eufaula the only way of crossing the South Canadian River, about four miles below the town, was by means of a rather uncertain ferry, and the citizens of Eufaula, feeling the great need of a good bridge across the river, incorporated- The Jefferson Highway Bridge Company, and at a cost of almost a quarter of a million dollars, built the present splendid structure of steel and concrete, forty feet above low water; affording a 365 day crossing throughout the year. Already the traffic over this bridge, which was opened for use April 21, 1920, bids fair to justify the large expenditure upon it and it is rapidly becoming one of the notable landmarks of the neighborhood. Source: 1

Geography

Eufaula is located at (35.291895, -95.586528). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.6 square miles (25 km²), of which 6.6 square miles (17 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) (31.15%) is water.

Eufaula is home to Lake Eufaula, the largest lake contained entirely within the state of Oklahoma because of the Eufaula Dam. Lake Eufaula contains Standing Rock, an historical monument which can no longer be seen since the creation of the lake.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	757		—
1910	1,307		72.7%
1920	2,286		74.9%
1930	2,073		−9.3%
1940	2,355		13.6%
1950	2,540		7.9%
1960	2,382		−6.2%
1970	2,355		−1.1%
1980	3,159		34.1%
1990	2,652		−16.0%
2000	2,639		−0.5%
2010	2,813		6.6%
Est. 2014	2,909		3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,639 people, 1,150 households, and 663 families residing in the city. The population density was 397.8 people per square mile (153.7/km²). There were 1,468 housing units at an average density of 221.3 per square mile (85.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.46% White, 17.92% Native American, 7.43% African American, 1.21% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races. Respondents of two or more races represented 7.58% of the population.

There were 1,150 households out of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 20.0% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,547, and the median income for a family was $28,871. Males had a median income of $25,673 versus $19,405 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,521. About 20.9% of families and 27.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.4% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Indian Journal

The first issue of the Indian Journal was published in 1876 and is oldest continuously-published newspapersin Oklahoma. Famous people who worked for the Indian Journal include Alexander Posey. One of the first Masonic lodges in Indian Territory was organized here and the city claims as many thirty-second degree Masons as any other town of its size in the state. source: 1 [1]

Notable people

• Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone, American opera singer
• Donna Nelson, chemist
• Alexander Posey,wrote for the Indian Journal
• Clyde Stacy, American rockabilly singer

Sports

• Andy Livingston, former professional American football running back in the NFL, played for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
• Warren Livingston, former professional American football cornerback, played six seasons for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League
• Selmon brothers, Leroy, Dewey and Lucious, who played football at OU. Leroy was elected to NFL Hall of Fame.
• J. C. Watts, an American politician from Eufaula who was a college football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and professionally in the CFL.
• Greg Anderson, who was the administrator for the Eufaula Indian Dormitory for 3 decades and is now the Chief of Staff of the Bureau of Indian Education in Washington, D.C.

In popular culture

• The TV Show, “Dirty Jobs” filmed in Eufaula for Catfish Noodling the episode "Worm Dung Farmer", which was one of the pilot episodes. Its original air date was November 14, 2003. In Season 2, Episode 9 called, “Dirtiest Water Jobs” it was also featured, that original air date was December 20, 2005.

Source: 5

• Eufaula Ironheads were mentioned on Carrie Underwood song I Ain't in Checotah Anymore. They were said to be beaten by the Wildcats.

• The Eufaula Mayor Speeches were on March 8, 2011, Tuesday at the Eufaula High School Auditorium. Also includes city council delegates. Source:Recorded Mayor Speeches of 2011

Further reading

• Lake Eufaula Reflections book ISBN 0-89865-853-5 ISBN 9780898658538 Publisher: Friends of the Eufaula Memorial Library - 1992

External links

• City of Eufaula
• Eufaula Chamber of Commerce
• Eufaula Area Arts
• Lake Eufaula
• Eufaula Memorial Library
• Eufaula Public Schools District
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Eufaula
• Eufaula information, photos and videos on TravelOK.com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma