Nowata (Lenape: ', ' ) is a city in and the county seat of Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Nowata had a population of 3,517. The area where it was established was then part of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory.
History
The first community established at this site was named Metz, named for its first postmaster, Fred Metzner. The name was changed even before the railroad was built in 1889.
Nowata served as a train stop for Native Americans from the East being forced to resettle by the United States government. Some controversy exists about the meaning of the town name. Lenape tribesmen who passed through named it "nuwita," meaning "friendly" or "welcome." In the Cherokee language, the town is called ᎠᎹᏗᎧᏂᎬᎬ (A-ma-di-ka-ni-gunh-gunh, roughly), which means, "water is all gone," translating what it sounded like the word meant: No Water.
thumb|upright=1.15|Cherokee Bill Goldsby posing with his captors during a stop by train to Nowata, 1895. Left to right are #5)Zeke Crittenden; #4)Dick Crittenden;Cherokee Bill; #2)Clint Scales, #1) Ike Rogers; #3) Deputy Marshall Bill Smith.
In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (later part of the Missouri Pacific Railway) built a line through Nowata. A post office was established in the town on November 8, 1889. Nowata was incorporated April 17, 1899. By 1900, Nowata had 498 residents.
Nowata's peak population was 4,435 in 1920. It became the southern terminus of the Union Electric Railway, which continued to serve the city until 1948. Newspapers included the Nowata Herald and the Nowata Advertiser. The town had 850 telephones by 1930, when the census showed its first population decline, to nearly the 1910 level.
Geography
Nowata is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas state line. A week later, the high temperature was , which is higher. The city falls within USDA plant hardiness zone 7a ().
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Nowata had a population of 3,517. The median age was 38.8 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.4 males age 18 and over.
0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,453 households in Nowata, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.7% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Percent
|-
| White || 58.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 1.8%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 19.9%
|-
| Asian || 0.2%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 0.7%
|-
| Two or more races || 19.3%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3.4%
|}
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 3,971 people, 1,622 households, and 1,026 families residing in the city. The population density was .