Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Bartlesville, Oklahoma
City
Downtown Bartlesville viewed from the Price Tower in 2008
Nickname(s): B-ville
Location of Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 36°44′50″N 95°57′34″W / 36.74722°N 95.95944°W / 36.74722; -95.95944Coordinates: 36°44′50″N 95°57′34″W / 36.74722°N 95.95944°W / 36.74722; -95.95944
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Counties	Washington, Osage
Bartlesville, Indian Territory	January 15, 1897
Area
• Total	22.75 sq mi (58.9 km2)
• Land	22.75 sq mi (58.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	705 ft (215 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	35,837
• Density	1,600/sq mi (610/km2)
• Demonym	Bartlesvillia n/Bartian
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	74003 74004 74005 74006
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code rE	40-04450 [1]
GNIS feature ID	1089874 [2]
Website	cityofbartlesville.org

Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 35,750 at the 2010 census, with a 2013 estimate of 36,258 according to the US Census Bureau.^[3] Bartlesville is 47 miles (76 km) north of Tulsa and 18 miles (29 km) from Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. It is the county seat of Washington County.^[4] The Caney river runs through Bartlesville.

Bartlesville is the primary city of the Bartlesville Micropolitan area, which consists of Washington County and has a population of 50,976 as of 2010. Bartlesville Micropolitan area is also part of the Tulsa Combined Statistical Area CSA with a population of 988,454 as of 2010.

Bartlesville is notable as the longtime home of Phillips Petroleum Company. The company merged with Conoco as ConocoPhillips and later split into the two independent companies Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips. Both companies remain in Bartlesville. Frank Phillips founded Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville in 1905 when the area was still Indian Territory.

It is one of two places in Oklahoma where a Lenape Native American tribe lives, the other being Anadarko.^[5]

History

Jacob Bartles, son-in-law of Delaware chief Charles Journeycake, moved from Wyandotte County, Kansas to Indian Territory in 1873. He settled first at Silver Lake, a natural lake south of the present city of Bartlesville. In 1874, he opened a trading post and post office on Turkey Creek, in what is now East Bartlesville. In the following year, he bought a grist mill on the Caney River and modified it to produce flour. Bartles then built a two-story general store and residence, and added a rooming house, a blacksmith shop and a livery stable. Other settlers soon moved into the immediate area, which was then called Bartles Town. In 1880, Bartles moved his Turkey Creek post office to this town. Bartles then provided the community with electricity, a telephone system and a water distribution system.^[6]

Development of the present city began after William Johnstone and George B. Keeler opened a general store on the south side of the Caney River in 1884. The first newspaper, The Weekly Magnet, began publication in March 1895. The town was incorporated in Indian Territory in January 1897. The town was surveyed and platted in 1898, and eighty acres were offered to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad for a depot. The railroad reached the town in 1899. The post office was moved from "North Bartlesville" in 1899. Bypassed by the railroad, Jacob Bartles moved his store to Dewey, Oklahoma.^[6]

In 1957, Bartlesville was the test site for the first experiment in pay cable television.^[7] The Bartlesville Telemovie System debuted with The Pajama Game, starring Doris Day, and aired it to an audience of 300 homes. The headline of the September 4, 1957 issue of Variety read "First-Run Films Now at Home".

Geography

Bartlesville is located at 36°44′50″N 95°57′34″W / 36.74722°N 95.95944°W / 36.74722; -95.95944 (36.747193, -95.959498).^[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.1 square miles (54.6 km²), of which 21.1 square miles (54.6 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) (0.09%) is water.

The Caney River flows through Bartlesville separating the downtown area from the east side. The river flooded in October 1986 due to above average rainfall. The city was split in half for several days and the flood caused considerable property damage. The river left its banks again in June 2007, cresting five feet below the 1986 crest. Bartlesville is familiar with both very hot conditions in the summer with a record high of 115 °F and with very cold conditions with a record of low of -28 °F. However, even with this record of extremes, the climate of Bartlesville is considered Humid Subtropical with relatively mild winters and hot summers, with the majority of precipitation falling in spring, between the months of April–June. Bartlesville lies in Tornado Alley, meaning that severe weather including tornadoes can occur. Severe weather occurs most often in the spring months, and occurs with much less frequency throughout the rest of the year.

Climate

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	698		—
1910	6,181		785.5%
1920	14,417		133.2%
1930	14,763		2.4%
1940	16,267		10.2%
1950	19,228		18.2%
1960	27,893		45.1%
1970	29,683		6.4%
1980	34,568		16.5%
1990	34,256		−0.9%
2000	34,748		1.4%
2010	35,750		2.9%
Est. 2012	36,245		1.4%
Sources:[1][10][11][12]

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 34,748 people, 14,565 households, and 9,831 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,646.4 people per square mile (635.5/km²). There were 16,091 housing units at an average density of 762.4 per square mile (294.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.09% White, 3.20% African American, 7.18% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 5.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.02% of the population.

There were 14,565 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,195, and the median income for a family was $56,432. The per capita income for the city was $27,417. About 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line.^[13]

As of 2010 Bartlesville had a population of 35,750. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 79.0% White (76.1% Non-Hispanic), 3.1% Black or African American, 8.7% Native American, 1.4% Asian (0.4% Indian, 0.3% Chinese, 0.2% Vietnamese), 2.1% reporting some other race, 5.7% reporting Two or more races and 5.9% Hispanic or Latino (4.5% Mexican, 0.3% Spanish or Spaniard, 0.2% Puerto Rican).^[14][15]

Economy

Prior to its merger with Conoco, Phillips Petroleum Company had its headquarters in Bartlesville.^[16][17] After ConocoPhillips formed, the combined company established a global systems and services office in Bartlesville.^[18] ConocoPhillips spun most of its operations not related to Exploration and Production to form a new company, Phillips 66, in 2012. The two companies combined employ or contract more than 3,800 people in the area.^[19] Chevron Phillips also has an office here.^[20]

Phillips Petroleum had a large presence in Bartlesville. A writer for The News Tribune said, "I never quite understood why the town where I spent my high school years wasn't named Phillipsburg. Nearly everything else in town was named after the Phillips Petroleum company or its founder".^[21]

Tourism

Price Tower, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, stands in downtown Bartlesville. It is the only realized skyscraper by Wright, and is one of only two vertically oriented Wright structures extant (the other is the S.C. Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin). The nearby Bartlesville Community Center, designed by William Wesley Peters, one of Wright's students, hosts the "OK Mozart" International Festival, an annual week-long music event in June.^[22] Begun in 1985 organized around the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the festival features performances of classical, jazz, light opera, and more. World-renowned musicians who have performed at OK Mozart include Itzhak Perlman, Joyce Yang, Joshua Bell, and André Watts. The Community Center also hosts the Bartlesville Community Concert Association's^[23] concert lineup.

The city also hosts several annual festivals and shows, nearly all focused in the downtown.^[24] Sunfest^[25] is scheduled the first weekend of June. It includes an arts and crafts show, a music festival, a kids festival, and a classic cars show in Downtown. A second classic air show and festival in the fall. An Oklahoma Indian Summer Festival^[26] held at the Community Center in Downtown Bartlesville each fall.

Bartlesville's downtown revitalization efforts are in full swing, with many blocks of National Register Historic District, and the catalyst project, the once burned out May Brothers and 1904 Buildings are coming to completion at the downtown's center. The original Kress Building has been taken over by Bartlesville Monthly Magazine and restored with the Frank Phillips Club on the first floor. The original Jane Phillips Memorial Hospital is about to undergo historic preservation for re-use as lofts, as downtown Bartlesville is so full of young professionals that the many developed historic lofts all have a long waiting list, and nearly twenty new retail and restaurant businesses have recently located in the downtown, including Indian Coffee, Lubella's Boutique, and Oklahoma's famous Hideaway Pizza.^[24] Downtown Bartlesville Inc., the Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority, the Bartlesville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Bartlesville Development Authority work in tandem to promote this thriving "Next City" in Oklahoma downtown redevelopment in a City rich in oil history and energized for the future with the highest job growth in Oklahoma.^[27]

Frank Phillips' former home in Bartlesville is a museum maintained by the Oklahoma Historical Society. His ranch and retreat about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Bartlesville is called Woolaroc (a portmanteau of the words woods, lakes, rocks). A working ranch of 3,700 acres (1,500 ha), Woolaroc houses a museum exhibiting Phillips' extensive Native American, western, and fine art collections. It holds one of the most complete private collections of Colt firearms in the world. The property includes the Phillips family's lodge and mausoleum, along with a huge wildlife preserve with herds of American bison, elk, Texas longhorn cattle, water buffalo, zebra, and more than 20 other animal species.

A Wall of Honor is located inside Washington Park Mall, with names of service members listed on panels beside cabinets that display military artifacts, photos, story boards, POW/MIA listings, and other exhibits. A special display honors Lance Corporal Thomas A. Blair, Oklahoma's first casualty during the Iraq War.

Bruce Goff designed Shin'enKan ("The House of the Far Away Heart") in 1956. Built for Joe D. Price as his house and studio, it was destroyed by fire in December 1996. However, Bartlesville is the home of multiple other Bruce Goff architectural masterpieces, a home for the Price Pipe and Supply Family, by Frank Lloyd Wright, and numerous homes by the famous Kansas City Architect, Edward Delk.^[28]

Education

Oklahoma Wesleyan University, a private religious school affiliated with the Wesleyan Church, currently enrolls about 500 students at the main campus in Bartlesville and about 1000 including satellite and online campuses. About 700 students attend the local Rogers State University campus downtown.

Career and technical training is provided by Tri County Technology Center, which offers several programs for high-school and adult students along with short-term courses.

Bartlesville Public Schools are in the Bartlesville Public School District (BPSD).^[29]

Bartlesville's public schools include seven elementary (PreK-5) sites, Central and Madison middle schools (6-8), Mid-High (9-10), and the Senior High (11-12).

Private schools in Bartlesville include St. John School, a Catholic school, Coram Deo Classical Academy, and the Wesleyan Christian School, which is affiliated with First Wesleyan Church. Some students also attend Tulsa-area private high schools.

Notable people

• Bud Adams, owner of the Tennessee Titans; enrolled Cherokee, grew up in Bartlesville.
• Nancy Barrett, actress
• Ruth W. Brown, librarian and civil rights activist
• Markell Carter linebacker for the New England Patriots
• Patrick Cranshaw, actor
• Ree Drummond, blogger and TV cook
• Lyle Goodhue, scientist
• Meredith Howard Harless, performer
• Becky Hobbs, singer
• Ted Hsu, Member of Canadian Parliament for the riding of Kingston and the Islands.
• Todd Ames Hunter, Texas politician, born in Bartlesville in 1953
• Bob Kurland, basketball player
• Tyson Meade, rock singer
• Emeka Okafor, basketball player
• Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum
• Kinga Philipps, actress/producer
• Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University
• Mark Price, basketball player
• Allen Rucker, writer
• William Salyers, stage, screen and voice actor
• Gretchen Wyler, actress

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Oklahoma
• Pathfinder Parkway - Bicycle and jogging path which runs throughout Bartlesville.
• Jo Allyn Lowe Park
• Washington Park Mall

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

• City of Bartlesville
• Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce
• Bartlesville News and Community Events
• History of Bartlesville & Washington County
• Bartlesville Area History Museum: Bartlesville Timeline (illustrated)
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Bartlesville

Municipalities and communities of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States County seat: Pawhuska Cities Barnsdall Bartlesville‡ Hominy Pawhuska Ponca City‡ Sand Springs‡ Shidler Tulsa‡ Towns Avant Burbank Fairfax Foraker Grainola Osage Prue Skiatook‡ Webb City Wynona CDP McCord Unincorporated communities Apperson Bowring Carter Nine Gray Horse Little Chief Lynn Addition Nelagony Okesa Pearsonia Pershing Tallant Whippoorwill Wild Horse Wolco Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Oklahoma, United States County seat: Bartlesville Cities Bartlesville‡ Dewey Towns Copan Ochelata Ramona Vera Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

County seats in Oklahoma Ada Altus Alva Anadarko Antlers Arapaho Ardmore Arnett Atoka Bartlesville Beaver Boise City Buffalo Chandler Cherokee Cheyenne Chickasha Claremore Coalgate Duncan Durant El Reno Enid Eufaula Fairview Frederick Guthrie Guymon Hobart Holdenville Hollis Hugo Idabel Jay Kingfisher Lawton Madill Mangum Marietta McAlester Medford Miami Muskogee New Cordell Newkirk Norman Nowata Okemah Oklahoma City Okmulgee Pauls Valley Pawhuska Pawnee Perry Poteau Pryor Purcell Sallisaw Sapulpa Sayre Shawnee Stigler Stillwater Stilwell Sulphur Tahlequah Taloga Tishomingo Tulsa Vinita Wagoner Walters Watonga Waurika Wewoka Wilberton Woodward