Quapaw (pronounced kwuh-PAW), officially the Town of Quapaw, is a town in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, which serves as the capital of the Quapaw Nation. Located about northeast of Miami, it is part of the Joplin, Missouri metropolitan area. Incorporated in 1917, Quapaw's population was 811 in 2020.
History
In 1891, Kansas farmer Isaac Bingham moved his family south into Ottawa County, then part of land assigned to the Quapaw Nation. It became part of the state of Oklahoma in 1907 after admission. The family founded a community and opened several businesses. Quapaw Chief John Quapaw donated land for a community school. The Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad established a railroad stop and siding at this site. This established access to markets for hay and agricultural products of the area, attracting more settlers. A post office was opened in the community grocery store in 1897.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Quapaw had a population of 811. The median age was 40.5 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.5 males age 18 and over.
There were 303 households in Quapaw, of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.6% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
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| White || 471 || 58.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 8 || 1.0%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 252 || 31.1%
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| Asian || 0 || 0.0%
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| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || 0.1%
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| Some other race || 6 || 0.7%
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| Two or more races || 73 || 9.0%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 26 || 3.2%
|}
2000 census
As of the census Not coincidentally, fellow M*A*S*H cast member Judy Farrell, Mike Farrell's real-life wife at the time, was born in Quapaw. Mike Farrell mentioned the town and the writers loved it for the script.