Spavinaw, Oklahoma

Spavinaw is a town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 350 at the 2020 census,

The first recorded settler here was Lewis Rogers, son of Captain John Rogers. Lewis set up a mill, a distillery, and a salt works in 1829. In 1839, the Creek began moving into the Spavinaw area of Indian Territory as a result of Indian removal. The Cherokee council outlawed the operation of distilleries in their area and dispossessed Rogers of his distillery and the salt works, both of which had already been damaged by a flooding of Spavinaw Creek.

In 1846, Jacob Croft, a Mormon en route to Utah, decided to settle here instead. Joseph Lynch Martin hired him to restore the mill. In 1855, a group of Mormon missionaries from Utah arrived at Croft's home and began converting Cherokees and Creeks. When they began urging the converts to move to Utah, Lewis Rogers complained to the Cherokee council. In October 1856, Chief John Ross ordered all Mormons out of the Cherokee Nation. The community that grew up around these works became known as "Lynch's Mill". In October 1878, the community was renamed Spavinaw Mills.

Lake Spavinaw

After the city of Tulsa began the Spavinaw Water Project in the 1920s, construction began on the Spavinaw Dam, which created Lake Spavinaw from Spavinaw Creek. The project submerged the site of the former Spavinaw Mills. The residents moved a short distance to found a new town called Spavinaw.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Spavinaw had a population of 350. The median age was 51.2 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 107.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.

There were 159 households in Spavinaw, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.8% were married-couple households, 25.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 212 || 60.6%

| Black or African American || 0 || 0.0%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 82 || 23.4%

| Asian || 1 || 0.3%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%

| Some other race || 5 || 1.4%

| Two or more races || 50 || 14.3%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 9 || 2.6%

2010 census

At the 2010 census, Spavinaw had a population of 437. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 59.3% non-Hispanic, white 27.9%, non-Hispanic Native American 2.1%, Hispanic Native American, 9.2% reporting two or more races and 4.3% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the census

Notable people

Mickey Mantle (1931–1995), Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player for the New York Yankees
Audra Smoke-Conner (born 1968), Cherokee Nation tribal councilor (2003–2007)