Weleetka is a town in

Okfuskee County Okfuskee County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,310. Its county seat is Okemah, Oklahoma, Okemah. The county is named for a forme ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. It is approximately southeast of Okemah, the county seat. The name is a Creek word meaning "running water." The population was 806 at the time of the 2020 census.

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 Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is pa ...

. Clarke and Moore knew that the

Fort Smith and Western Railway The Fort Smith and Western Railway was a rail transport, railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The railroad's main line extended from Coal Creek, Oklahoma (about 7 miles east of Bokoshe, Oklahoma) to Guthrie, Oklahoma, ...

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 The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Anglin, Milbria. "Weleetka." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed July 7, 2019. 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. The surrounding area was mostly devoted to agriculture, where farmers produced cotton, wheat, oats, alfalfa, fruits, vegetables, peanuts, and pecans. Later, it became known for production of oil and gas. The town had a population of 1,020 at statehood in 1907. By 1930, it could boast of having 2,042 people. It also had two hotels, three cotton gins, a cotton compress, three drug stores, an opera house, and a mercantile company. Weleetka was once a major railroad town, serving as the division point for the

. All train crews changed out in Weleetka; the town also housed major shops and repair facilities for the steam locomotives. Headquartered in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, the Fort Smith and Western was a railroad that operated in the states of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

. The railroad's main line extended 217 miles, from Ft. Smith through Weleetka to Guthrie. The Fort Smith and Western owned a subsidiary, St. Louis, El Reno and Western, which began operating 42 miles between Guthrie and El Reno, Oklahoma in June 1904. The railroad also acquired 32.5 miles of trackage rights over the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad from Fallis, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City. The railroad supported much of the business and hotels of the city in the first half of the 1900s. Trains entering town from the East were switched and broken down in Weleetka, and dispatched northwest for either

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, Guthrie or El Reno. Due to the railroad yard in Weleetka, the single westbound train could thus become two westbound trains. The reverse was true for eastbound trains. Weleetka was vital to the life of the railroad. The railroad provided regular passenger service and at one time boasted through Pullman sleeping cars to and from

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

and Oklahoma City. The route of the FS&W served no major population centers, but did serve major coal mining operations in eastern Oklahoma at Coal Creek, Bokoshe, and McCurtain. Other towns served included Crowder, Okemah, Boley,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Vernon, Indianola and Meridian. A major portion of the road's freight traffic was metallurgical-grade coal from San Bois Coal Company mines near McCurtain. As coal traffic declined, an oil discovery near Okemah brought additional traffic, which postponed the abandonment of the railroad. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad withdrew trackage rights between Fallis and Oklahoma City in January 1939 after FS&W defaulted on rental fees, and when the Fort Smith and Western ceased operations on February 9, 1939, Weleetka lost its major employer. Beginning in 1930, both cotton production and railroad service declined, followed by a steady loss of population throughout the 20th Century. Weleetka remained a trading center for its area, and in 2000, there were still 1,014 residents. Ten churches, a school system, and a weekly newspaper, the ''Weleetkan'', served the community. The Weleetka Town Hall and Jail were included in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma (NR 93000156). The 2010 population had declined further to 998.

Geography

It is southeast of the county seat, Okemah. The townsite is on a horseshoe bend of the

North Canadian River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering Nor ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,014 people, 368 households, and 235 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 450 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 60.36%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 6.31%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 23.77% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 1.08% from other races, and 8.38% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.66% of the population. There were 368 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $19,141, and the median income for a family was $26,917. Males had a median income of $23,542 versus $15,227 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $12,103. About 22.3% of families and 27.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 32.2% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

*Weleetka is home to country singer Amber Hayes.Brandy McDonnell
"Country artist and Oklahoma native Amber Hayes releases sophomore EP 'Any Day Is a Good Day'", ''The Oklahoman
'', October 25, 2012.

History

Geography

Demographics

Notable person

References

Further reading