Creek County, Oklahoma

Creek County
Creek County
County
	Creek County Courthouse, Sapulpa in 2014
	Location within the U.S. state of Oklahoma
	Oklahoma's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°54′N 96°22′W / 35.9°N 96.37°W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Founded	1907
Named for	Creek Nation
Seat	Sapulpa
Largest city	Sapulpa
Area
• Total	970 sq mi (2,500 km2)
• Land	950 sq mi (2,500 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2) 2.0%
Population (2020)
• Total	71,754
• Density	74/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 3rd
Website	www.creekcountyonline.com

Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,754.^[1] Its county seat is Sapulpa.^[2]

Creek County is part of the Tulsa, OK metropolitan statistical area.

History

European explorers traveled through this area early in the 19th century, after the Louisiana Purchase. In 1825, the Osage Nation ceded the territory where the Federal Government planned to resettle the Creek Nation and other tribes after their expulsion from the Southeastern part of the United States. The Creeks began migrating into this area, where they and their black slaves settled to begin farming and raising cattle. In 1835, Federal soldiers under Captain J. L. Dawson built the Dawson Road, following an old Osage hunting trail.^[3]

Railroads gave an important boost to the local economy. In 1886, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad built a line from Red Fork to Sapulpa. In 1898, the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railway Company (later the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway),^[4] connected Sapulpa and Oklahoma City.^[3]

The present Creek County was established at the time of statehood, with a population of 18,365. The town of Sapulpa was initially designated as the county seat. This decision was challenged by supporters of the town of Bristow. An election held August 12, 1908, to choose a permanent seat was won by Sapulpa, but the dispute did not end there. After a series of court cases, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sapulpa on August 1, 1913.^[3]

After oil was discovered at Glenn Pool in adjacent Tulsa County in 1905, other strikes occurred in Creek County. The Cushing-Drumright Oil Field opened in 1912, creating boom towns Drumright, Kiefer and Oilton. By 1920, the county population had increased to 62,480.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 970 square miles (2,500 km²), of which 950 square miles (2,500 km²) is land and 20 square miles (52 km²) (2.0%) is water.^[5] It is drained by the Cimarron River, and the Deep Fork and Little Deep Fork of the North Canadian River. Heyburn Lake is contained within the county. Keystone Lake is partially within Creek County.^[3]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Pawnee County (north)
Tulsa County (east)
Okmulgee County (southeast)
Okfuskee County (south)
Lincoln County (west)
Payne County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	26,223	—
1920	62,480	138.3%
1930	64,115	2.6%
1940	55,503	−13.4%
1950	43,143	−22.3%
1960	40,495	−6.1%
1970	45,532	12.4%
1980	59,016	29.6%
1990	60,915	3.2%
2000	67,317	10.5%
2010	69,967	3.9%
2020	71,754	2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010^[10]

As of the census of 2000,^[11] there were 67,367 people, 25,289 households, and 19,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 inhabitants per square mile (27/km²). There were 27,986 housing units at an average density of 29 units per square mile (11 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.27% White, 2.56% Black or African American, 9.08% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 5.16% from two or more races; 1.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the 2020 census, its population increased to 71,754.^[1]

As of 2000, there were 25,289 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 21.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $33,168, and the median income for a family was $38,470. Males had a median income of $31,190 versus $21,690 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,191. About 8% of families and 13.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over. By 2021 census estimates, its median household income was $56,384.^[1]

Politics

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023^[12]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	9,080	21.43%
	Republican	28,106	66.35%
	Others	7,176	16.94%
Total		42,362	100%

Political culture

United States presidential election results for Creek County, Oklahoma^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	23,294	76.36%	6,577	21.56%	634	2.08%
2016	21,575	74.84%	5,841	20.26%	1,414	4.90%
2012	18,986	72.70%	7,128	27.30%	0	0.00%
2008	20,187	70.82%	8,318	29.18%	0	0.00%
2004	18,848	65.50%	9,929	34.50%	0	0.00%
2000	13,580	57.20%	9,753	41.08%	408	1.72%
1996	9,861	43.91%	9,674	43.08%	2,922	13.01%
1992	10,055	39.84%	9,118	36.13%	6,065	24.03%
1988	11,308	53.89%	9,512	45.33%	162	0.77%
1984	15,011	66.34%	7,465	32.99%	152	0.67%
1980	11,749	59.55%	7,339	37.20%	641	3.25%
1976	8,458	48.08%	8,964	50.96%	169	0.96%
1972	12,396	75.11%	3,705	22.45%	402	2.44%
1968	6,934	43.34%	5,151	32.20%	3,913	24.46%
1964	6,355	39.25%	9,836	60.75%	0	0.00%
1960	8,785	58.61%	6,205	41.39%	0	0.00%
1956	8,295	53.87%	7,102	46.13%	0	0.00%
1952	9,257	51.21%	8,818	48.79%	0	0.00%
1948	6,532	41.53%	9,198	58.47%	0	0.00%
1944	7,549	47.38%	8,342	52.36%	41	0.26%
1940	9,468	46.20%	10,976	53.55%	51	0.25%
1936	7,257	36.46%	12,540	63.01%	106	0.53%
1932	6,786	34.36%	12,963	65.64%	0	0.00%
1928	12,254	67.92%	5,693	31.55%	95	0.53%
1924	8,894	50.21%	7,969	44.99%	851	4.80%
1920	7,948	56.88%	5,408	38.70%	618	4.42%
1916	2,820	36.92%	3,496	45.77%	1,323	17.32%
1912	1,902	41.54%	1,681	36.71%	996	21.75%