Tonkawa (Oklahoma)

Kay County

40-74150

Tonkawa is a city with the status of City in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Geography

Tonkawa is located 20 kilometers west of Ponca City. The nearest major town is Wichita (100 km north) in Kansas. The road connecting U.S. Highway 77 runs right through the city, Interstate 35, it affects the west. The Salt Fork Arkansas River crosses the city from west to east direction.

History

The name of the town goes back to the Indian tribe of the Tonkawa and means in their language means " all stand together " (English: They All Stay Together ). After the Cherokee Outlet and the Oklahoma Land Run, the land was released for settlement. Subsequently, the city was founded in 1894. By following the Blackwell and Southern Railway (later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ) and the development of oil fields grew the population by the year 1921, by leaps and bounds. Although the population was due to falling oil demand back again, however, the oil and gas industry remained an important economic activity. From January 1943 until September 1945 in Towanda existed a camp for about 3,000, mostly German prisoners of war who mainly came from the Africa Corps. The site of the former POW camp is used today as an industrial area. The city also operates farms, especially the cultivation of wheat.

National Register of Historic Places

The First Presbyterian Church of Tonkawa was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Demography

In 2012 a population of 3164 persons was determined, which means a weakening by 4.1 % over the year 2000. The average age of the residents was in 2012 with 32.5 years below the average of Oklahoma, which was 40.6 years. Approximately 6.8% of the population is of Indian descent.

The most authoritative immigration groups during the beginnings of the town came to 17.2% from Germany to 12.3% in Ireland and 11.9% in England.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Henry Bellmon (1921-2009), politician