Washington County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,455. Named for President George Washington, it is the smallest county in Oklahoma in total area, adjacent to the largest county in Oklahoma, Osage County. Washington County comprises the Bartlesville, OK micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Tulsa-Muskogee-Bartlesville, OK combined statistical area. It is located along the border with Kansas.

History

The Osage ceded their land claims in 1825, and the Federal Government allowed the Western Cherokee to settle in this area in 1828. The 1835 Treaty of New Echota confirmed Cherokee ownership of the land. The area now covered by Washington County was part of the Cherokee Saline District between 1840 and 1856 and the Cooweescoowee District from 1856 to 1906. It is the second-smallest county in Oklahoma by land area and smallest by total area. It lies in the Eastern Lowlands physiographic region, and is drained by the Caney River. Lakes and reservoirs include Copan Lake, Silver Lake and Bar-Dew Lake.

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010-2019 2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 52,455. Of the residents, 23.5% were under the age of 18 and 20.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.9 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 68.9% White, 2.6% Black or African American, 10.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9% Asian, 2.3% from some other race, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.4% of the population.

Politics

{| class=wikitable

! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 31, 2021

|-

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Number of Voters

! Percentage

|-

|

| Republican

| align = center | 20,565

| align = center | 60.82%

|-

|

| Democratic

| align = center | 6,414

| align = center | 18.97%

|-

|

| Others

| align = center | 6,835

| align = center | 20.21%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 33,814

! align = center | 100%

|}

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Communities

Cities

  • Bartlesville (county seat)
  • Dewey

Towns

  • Copan
  • Ochelata
  • Ramona
  • Vera

NRHP sites

The following sites in Washington County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places

  • Bartlesville Downtown Historic District, Bartlesville
  • Bartlesville Civic Center, Bartlesville
  • Dewey Hotel, Dewey
  • LaQuinta, Bartlesville
  • Nellie Johnstone No. 1, Bartlesville
  • Old Washington County Courthouse, Bartlesville
  • Frank and Jane Phillips House, Bartlesville
  • Price Tower, Bartlesville

References

  • Washington County's website
  • Washington County History
  • Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory