Weleetka is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is approximately southeast of Okemah, the county seat. The name is a Creek word meaning "running water."

History

According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the present town of Weleetka was founded by three men from other communities who were having difficulty surviving in the newspaper business. These men, George F. Clarke of Vinita, Lake Moore of Fairland and John Jacobs of Holdenville, decided in 1899 to form a partnership and find a new town where they might find prosperity together. They had already learned that the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (SL&SF or "Frisco") was building a line southward from Sapulpa, Indian Territory, to Denison, Texas. Clarke and Moore knew that the Fort Smith and Western Railway was laying a line westward from Indian Territory to Guthrie, in Oklahoma Territory. The partners decided to establish a town at the junction of the two railroads. The partners selected a suitable town site on a hill just north of the Canadian River that was owned by Martha Lowe, a Creek Indian who had received an allotment. Someone suggested that the partners name the new site, "Weleetka", a Creek word that meant "running water" in English.

The partners began selling townsite lots for 40 dollars each on February 10, 1902. Within a day, they had netted enough to pay Mrs. Lowe for her land as well as cover their other expenses. On the following day, the First Bank of Weleetka opened for business. By the time it closed that evening, it held $3,000 in deposits. Business continued to be brisk, and a Weleetka post office was established on March 14, 1902.

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Weleetka had a population of 806. The median age was 47.8 years. 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 114.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 116.3 males age 18 and over.

There were 292 households in Weleetka, of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.6% were married-couple households, 27.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

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| White || 406 || 50.4%

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| Black or African American || 53 || 6.6%

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| American Indian and Alaska Native || 237 || 29.4%

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| Asian || 0 || 0.0%

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

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| Some other race || 12 || 1.5%

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| Two or more races || 98 || 12.2%

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| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 22 || 2.7%

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2000 census

As of the census

References

Further reading

  • Poor's Manual of Railroads - 1919, Poor's Publishing Co., New York City.
  • Drury, George H. (1985) Historical Guide to North American Railroads, Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  • Hull, Clifton E. (1988) Shortline Railroads of Arkansas, UCA Press, Conway, Arkansas.
  • Hofsommer, Donovan L. (1982) Railroads of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.