Oaks, Oklahoma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oaks is a town in Oklahoma, United States. The population was 412 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 New Springplace Indian Mission
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Oaks is located at 36°9′56″N, 94°51′13″W (36.165583, -94.853475)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 412 people, 125 households, and 86 families residing in the town. The population density was 98.8/km² (256.2/mi²). There were 137 housing units at an average density of 32.9/km² (85.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 13.59% White, 72.57% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 13.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.43% of the population.

There were 125 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.64.

In the town the population was spread out with 38.3% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,268, and the median income for a family was $27,396. Males had a median income of $19,375 versus $15,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,031. About 18.7% of families and 29.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.5% of those under age 18 and 36.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] New Springplace Indian Mission

In 1801, the Moravians from what is now the Czech Republic decided to mission to the Cherokee Indians who were then living in Georgia and Tennessee. As a result, they set up Springplace Mission in Springplace, Georgia. They continued to mission to the Cherokees there until the Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota with the Federal Government. This forced the Cherokees and the other 4 Civilized Tribes (the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles) to give up their homelands in the Southeastern United States and move to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Springplace Mission was forced to close its doors and move with the Cherokees to northeastern Indian Territory. Upon arrival to Indian Territory, the Moravians selected a spot north of Tahlequah, the new Cherokee Nation capital, to found New Springplace Indian Mission, near current-day Oaks.

The area selected was a beautiful one with plentiful oak trees (which is probably where Oaks got its name from) and a spring creek (today called Spring Creek), and the site was on the military road from Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, to St. Louis, Missouri. The Civil War temporarily closed the mission, but work resumed until 1902, when the Danish Lutherans took over. Also in 1902, Oaks-Mission School was formed to accommodate the education for the Indian children staying in what became the Oaks Indian Mission. Later, a nearby school consolidated with Oaks, and the school became Oaks-Mission Public School. In 1980, the name of the mission was changed to Oaks Indian Center, and "mission" was dropped from Oaks' school name until the 1990's, when "mission" was re-instated. And in 2004, the name of the Oaks Indian Center was restored to Oaks Indian Mission.

Currently, the Oaks Indian Mission continues to house and mission to Indian children, just like it did in the early days as Springplace and New Springplace.