Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County. Founded by John Coheia, a Black Seminole, and Black Seminoles in January 1849, Wewoka is the capital of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

History

thumb|left|upright|The city may have been named for the wife of Osceola. (1838 lithograph)

Wewoka's history begins with Black Seminole John Horse, who was also known as Gopher John. In the spring of 1849, Horse and a group of Black Seminoles founded a settlement near modern-day Wewoka. During the American Civil War, the Seminole Nation had sided with the Confederacy, although many tribe members fled to the relative safety of Kansas, where they remained for the duration of the war. In 1866, after the Confederacy surrendered, the United States government required the Seminole Nation to sign a new treaty, which required them to emancipate their slaves, give freedmen who wanted to stay in the territory full rights as citizens, including voting in the tribe. Brown led the refugees back to Wewoka, here he built himself a house and established a trading post. Freedmen settled in Wewoka along with the Seminole and Elijah Brown was the only legal white settler in the town. The trading post had several subsequent proprietors before it was bought by two Seminole brothers, John Frippo Brown and A. J. Brown, and became the Wewoka Trading Company in 1891. Rev. James Ross Ramsey, a Presbyterian missionary, founded the Ramsey Mission (considered the first school in present Seminole County) in 1866. A post office was established on May 13, 1867, with E. J. Brown as first postmaster. The Seminole Nation made Wewoka their capital city and Seminole Governor John Brown had a log house erected at Wewoka as the Seminole capitol in 1877. They were prominent Seminole of Creek and Scottish ancestry. Descendants included two prominent Seminole chiefs, Lucy Brown McKellop and her husband John F. McKellop. The house still stands, the last remaining structure of the Nineteenth Seminole Republic. It straddles the border between the Seminole and Creek nations and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On March 16, 1923, oil was discovered two miles southeast of Wewoka by R. H. Smith, part of the Greater Seminole Oil Field. Great wealth was realized by many Seminole in 1925 with the exploration of the Magnolia Petroleum Company. In the 1920s and 30s the great Seminole Oil Fields were the largest suppliers of oil anywhere in the world. In 1925 the population of Wewoka was 1,520. By 1927 the population increased to over 20,000, as adventurers and workers came, to make their fortunes. It rapidly had become the third-largest city in Oklahoma.

From 1927 to the present, the oil companies took out as much as they could get. As the oil decreased, jobs and people left the city. By 1950 the population of Wewoka was 6,753 and in 1960 it was 6,300. The population continued a steady decline, but the city has continued as the commercial center of the region. The 1980s and 1990s were difficult for the city. Businesses left town and poverty greatly increased.

The city leaders tried to protect themselves by refusing to allow competition, like Wal-Mart, to enter the city. Holdenville and Seminole do have Wal-Mart stores. Seminole's Wal-Mart has the super-center configuration offering groceries as well as dry goods.

Douglass High School was established for African American students during segregation, and Frederick Douglass Moon served as a teacher and its principal.

The crime rate in Wewoka during the 1980s increased; the radio commentator Paul Harvey called Wewoka "Little Chicago," because it had a higher crime rate per capita than the city of Chicago. The violence in the city caused people to avoid coming to Wewoka and gave the city a reputation that continues to linger.

By the mid-1990s, new leadership began to turn commerce around in the city. The police force was increased and began to get the crime rate under control. The crime rate by 2001 was below average for the state of Oklahoma. The historic downtown received a face lift of new sidewalks, streets, lights and flowers. Wewoka was selected as one of Channel 5's Top Five Cities in 2004.

The city of Wewoka continues to work to attract businesses and maintain population. The current population of Wewoka is just over 3,500. The projections show that the city will continue to decrease in the coming years. The ethnic diversity continues, with 52% white, 22% American Indian and 18% African American. The average household income is approximately $37,000 a year, a substantial increase over 2002. According to the demographic comparison, the number of households is decreasing, but the income of those living in Wewoka is increasing.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8&nbsp;square miles (12.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Wewoka had a population of 3,133. The median age was 38.5 years, 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18, and 18.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.9 males age 18 and over.

0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,151 households in Wewoka, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.7% were married-couple households, 24.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 36.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Percent

|-

| White || 47.3%

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| Black or African American || 13.7%

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| American Indian and Alaska Native || 23.5%

|-

| Asian || 0.3%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0%

|-

| Some other race || 1.0%

|-

| Two or more races || 14.2%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 4.4%

|}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,430 people, 3,177 households, and 803 families residing in Wewoka. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.23.

The "2011 Academic Performance Index" score for the Wewoka School District was 749. The statewide average score for this measure for 2009–10 was 1092. In comparison, other public schools in the region scored as follows:

  • Holdenville, 979
  • Wetumka, 925
  • Konawa, 1060
  • Seminole, 966
  • Varnum, 985

Wewoka Public Schools was not marked as a "School in Need of Improvement" in this state-generated report card. Although the school system was scored low, some Wewoka Public School system alumni of all races and social-strata regularly earn Ph.D.s, J.D.s, and other professional degrees in later life.

The Wewoka Public School system has a large brick high school building, designed and constructed during the Great Depression by the WPA. The high school auditorium serves for community events as well.

Wewoka is a 20-minute drive from an associate degree-granting college at Seminole State College. In addition, Wewoka is a 45-minute drive from two Ph.D.-degree-granting universities in Shawnee: Oklahoma Baptist University and St. Gregory's University (St. Gregory's University is now closed). East Central University is a 50-minute drive from Wewoka. The University of Oklahoma is an hour and 20 minutes from Wewoka, with Oklahoma State University being one hour and 45 minutes away.

Economy

The first successful oil well in the Wewoka area, Betsy Foster Number One, began producing in March, 1923, leading to a boom in the population of oil field workers. Lake Wewoka was built as a reservoir to assure the city water supply, and an amusement park at the lake soon followed. Agriculture was a major component of the Wewoka economy, with important products being cotton, peaches, peanuts, pecans, and Silvermine variety of corn. Cattle raising was also important. Although the population declined significantly during and right after World War II, it began to stabilize later in the 20th century. Major employers in the city have included Wewoka Brick Company, the Wewoka Packing Plant, the Oklahoma Clothing Manufacturing Company, Lillian Russell (dress manufacturing), Acker Industries (steel products), and Plasteck Central (aircraft parts). While developed by the City of Wewoka in the 1920s as a water reservoir, opportunities at the lake today include fishing & boating; RV & primitive camping; and, swimming & water skiing.

Sportsman Lake is to the northwest. the lake offers boat docks and ramps; primitive campsites as well as RV sites; equestrian trails and facilities; and, other amenities.

Governance

Wewoka has a council-manager form of government.

  • Ward 1 - Tambra Beyer
  • Ward 2 - Paula Edwards
  • Ward 3 - Bryan Williams
  • Ward 4 - Barry Tucker
  • Ward 5 - Richard Ellwanger
  • Mayor - Tom Ryan
  • City Manager - Rebecca Stone.

Museums

The Seminole National Museum opened in 1974, after about ten years of planning by the Seminole community in Oklahoma. It is housed in a native stone building that initially served as the Wewoka Community Center, after it was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1934. It operates as a non-profit organization, and does not charge an admission fee to visitors. The building has expanded from the original to and includes display space, a research library, an arts and crafts center, an art gallery, a small office and a gift shop. The museum offers educational courses both on site and on the road (both in Oklahoma and in other parts of the United States. The museum estimates that it has had over half a million visitors from every state in the U.S. and over 100 other countries, since its opening.

Vance Trimble, a Pulitzer Prize winning news reporter, editor and author, donated an extensive collection of research materials he used in writing his book, Alice & J. F. B., a biography of Seminole chiefs Alice Brown Davis and John F. Brown. Trimble had turned down a request for these materials from the University of Oklahoma Western History Collection because the subjects of the book were central to the history of the Seminoles and the city of Wewoka.

Events

Wewoka is home to an annual Sorghum Days celebration in the fall. Sorghum molasses is prepared on-site at the Seminole Nation Museum grounds. The sorghum is cooked from cane juice pressed in an authentic mule-driven cane press, a rarity today. Sorghum is sold on fry-bread on the museum grounds for visitors to enjoy. Sorghum is not an agricultural crop of the Wewoka area; a small patch is grown for this celebration. Past Sorghum Day parade marshals include actor Ken Curtis, best known for his portrayal of Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.

Notable people

  • Huey Battle (d. 1991), who attended Douglas High School in Wewoka, was the first African-American in Oklahoma to earn a doctoral degree from Oklahoma State University.
  • Lee P. Brown (born 1937), the first African-American mayor of Houston, Texas, was born in Wewoka in 1937 to sharecropper parents. He served as public safety commissioner of Atlanta, Georgia and police chief in Houston.
  • Oleta Crain (1913–2007), African-American military officer and federal civil servant.
  • Dale Douglass (1936–2022), professional golfer and member of the 1969 Ryder Cup team was born in Wewoka. He joined the professional tour in 1960.
  • James Coody Johnson (1864–1927), African-American lawyer practicing in or near Wewoka in the early 20th century. He testified before the U.S. Supreme court. As a Creek speaker, he served as an interpreter for the noted Judge Isaac C. Parker. For a time, he lived about 5 miles north of Wewoka. He sponsored an annual circus near his house. The J. Coody Johnson office building in Wewoka is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • William Shaffer Key (1889–1959), American military officer, lived in Wewoka prior to World War I.

Notes

References

  • Wewoka Oklahoma Travel Information