Ponca City, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Ponca City is a small city in Kay
and Osage
counties in the U.S. state
of Oklahoma
, which was named after the Ponca
Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma
, it lies approximately 18 miles (29 km) south of the Kansas
border, and approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Interstate 35
. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the time of the 2000 census
, making it the largest city in Kay County. The city is near the Arkansas River
, the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River
, Kaw Lake
, and Lake Ponca, which all provide numerous recreational opportunities.
Ponca City lies on approximately 18.1 square miles (46.9 km²) of land, and also has approximately 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) of water, for a total area of 19.3 square miles (50 km²). The city is served by the Ponca City Regional Airport (PNC), and is accessible by US-60, US-177, OK-11, and I-35.
of 2000, there were 25,919 people, 10,636 households and 7,019 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1431 PD/sqmi. There were 11,871 housing units at an average density of 655.4 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 84.18% White, 2.99% African American, 6.27% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.08% from other races
, and 3.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.43% of the population.
There were 10,636 households of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.
26.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,406, and the median income for a family was $39,846. Males had a median income of $32,283 versus $20,098 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,732. About 12.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Ponca City was created in 1893 as New Ponca after the Cherokee Outlet
was opened for settlement during the Cherokee Strip land run, the largest land run
in United States history. The site for Ponca City was selected for its proximity to the Arkansas River
and the presence of a fresh water spring
near the river. The city was laid out by Burton Barnes, who drew up the first survey
of the city and sold certificates for the lots he had surveyed. After the drawing for lots in the city was completed, Barnes was elected the city's first mayor.
Another city, Cross, vied with Ponca City to become the leading city in the area. After the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
had opened a station in Cross, people thought it would not open another one in Ponca City because the two cities were too close together. New Ponca boosters eventually secured a station after offering the Santa Fe station agent two town lots and the free relocation of his house from Cross. It is reported that Ponca City obtained its first boxcar station when some Ponca City supporters went to Cross one night and pulled the town's station to Ponca City. Cross eventually became defunct. In 1913 New Ponca changed its name to Ponca City.
, which once controlled approximately 10 percent of the world's oil reserves
, was founded by E. W. Marland
. He founded the 101 Ranch Oil Company
, located on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch
, and drilled his first successful oil well on land which he leased in 1911 from the Ponca
Tribe of American Indians. He was eventually elected the governor of Oklahoma governor and later as a U.S. congressman.
Marland's exploitation of oil reserves generated growth and wealth that were previously unimaginable on the Oklahoma prairie, and his company virtually built the city from the ground up. Mansions—including the Marland Mansion and Grand Home—were built by Marland and his associates. Because of this period of wealth and affluence, Ponca City has a high concentration of buildings that exemplify the popular Spanish revival architecture of the period, as well as art deco
-influenced buildings and homes.
The "Roaring 20s" came to an end for Ponca City shortly before the Great Depression
. After a takeover bid by J.P. Morgan Jr., son of financier J.P. Morgan, Marland Oil Co. merged with Continental Oil Co. (Conoco) in the late 1920s. It was known as Conoco for more than 70 years. The company maintained its headquarters in Ponca City during this time and continued to grow into a global corporation.
During the oil boom years of the 1980s, Conoco was owned by the DuPont
Corp., which took control of the company in 1981. After nearly two decades of ownership and an oil bust that crippled Oklahoma's economy in the late 1980s, DuPont sold off its Conoco assets in 1998. In 2002, Conoco had merged with Phillips Petroleum (another major petroleum player with roots in northern Oklahoma) to become ConocoPhillips
. ConocoPhillips was then the sixth largest publicly traded oil company in the world, and the third largest in the United States. It maintains a significant presence in its historic home state.
Based in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips continues to operate one of the United States' largest refineries in Ponca City. The company has reduced its workforce and facilities there, and Ponca City's population has declined steadily since the early 1990s as a result. In February 2009, ConocoPhillips announced that all of its remaining non-refinery operations in Ponca City (representing 750 jobs) would be moved out of the city. The city's recent efforts to grow its economy beyond the petroleum industry have attracted a number of technology, manufacturing and service jobs.
In 2005, ConocoPhillips announced plans to build a $5 million museum across from its Ponca City refinery. Opened to the public in May, 2007, the Conoco Museum features artifacts, photographs and other historical items related to the petroleum industry and its culture in northern Oklahoma. A sister museum, Phillips Petroleum Company Museum, will be opened in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Funded by a private foundation, the Conoco Museum charges no admission fee.
Until recently, European Americans' accounts of their settlement and the growth of the oil industry in Ponca City have often overshadowed both the long ancient history of indigenous peples in the area, as well as those tribes who were resettled to Oklahoma in the nineteenth century under Indian Removal. the lonhistory of the area's Native American population and its influences on the culture and history of the city and its environs.
Ponca City is named after the Ponca
Tribe, part of which was relocated from Nebraska
to northern Oklahoma from 1877 to 1880. Like all of the forced American Indian removals of the 19th century, the Poncas' trek was arduous. Followed by the government's failure to provide adequate supplies, as well as malaria
at their destination, nearly one-third of the Ponca died from illness and exposure. "Out of 700 Ponca who left the Nebraska reservation, 158 died in Oklahoma within two years."
The Ponca protested their conditions. Standing Bear's oldest son died in 1879. The chief had promised to bury him in his homeland, and about 60 Ponca accompanied him back to Nebraska. The US Army was ordered to arrest them for having left the reservation, and they were confined to Fort Omaha. Most of the tribal members who left eventually returned to the reservation in Oklahoma. With the aid of prominent attorneys working pro bono, Standing Bear filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging his arrest. The case of Standing Bear v. Crook (1879) was a landmark decision in the US District Court, where the judge ruled that Indians had the same legal rights as other United States citizens.
A statue was erected in his honor at the intersection of Highway 60 and South Fourth Street in Ponca City. In the late twentieth century, the city developed a park and museum, named in his honor.
The Ponca Nation, which has kept its headquarters south of Ponca City since 1879, played a major part in the development of the Marland Oil Co. and the city. Chief White Eagle leased resource-containing portions of the tribe's allotted land to E.W. Marland in 1911 for oil exploration and development.
Since the late 20th century, the Ponca Tribe has worked to build its infrastructure and improve services for its people. In February 2006, the tribe received a grant of more than $800,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota
for debt retirement and economic development.
Nearby north-central tribes are the Kaw
, Osage
, Otoe-Missouria
, Pawnee and Tonkawa
. These are all federally recognized tribes, as is the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
. In 1994 the six tribes established the Standing Bear Foundation and Pow-wow, beginning the first of annual shared pow-wows, to which they invite the public. They wanted to build collaboration among the tribes and with the non-Native residents of Ponca City. The pow-wow is now held in Standing Bear Park, which was named in honor of the notable Ponca chief.
Ponca City is the site of the Pioneer Woman Museum and the Pioneer Woman statue. The statue was erected to commemorate women pioneers. In the early 1920s, E. W. Marland
decided to create a statue commemorating the Pioneer Woman. Marland was reportedly asked, "E. W., why don't you have ... a statue to the vanishing American, a Ponca, Otoe, or an Osage - a monument of great size?" Marland answered, "the Indian is not the vanishing American - it's the pioneer woman." He sponsored a competition for the winning statue.
In 1928, miniature 3 foot (0.9144 m) sculptures were submitted as part of a competition by 12 U.S. and international sculptors: John Gregory
, Maurice Sterne
, Hermon Atkins MacNeil
, James Earle Fraser, Alexander Stirling Calder
, Wheeler Williams
, Mario Korbel
, F. Lynn Jenkins, Mahonri Young
, Arthur Lee
, Jo Davidson
and Bryant Baker
). They were displayed in twelve cities around the state, where they were viewed by 750,000 people who voted for their favorite. The twelve original submissions have been on display at the museum at Woolaroc
near Bartlesville, Oklahoma since the 1930s. Marland sold them to Frank Phillips after losing control of the Marland Oil Company.
The British-born American sculptor Bryant Baker was chosen as the winner. His full-scale work was unveiled in a public ceremony on April 22, 1930. Forty thousand guests came to hear Will Rogers
pay tribute to Oklahoma's pioneers. The statue is 27 feet (8.2 m) high and weighs 12,000 pounds.
A related museum commemorating Oklahoma women was opened on September 16, 1958, on the 65th anniversary of the Cherokee Strip land run. It recognizes the work of Native American as well as European-American women, and their leadership and stamina in creating homes, raising children and taking care of the work of sustaining life and communities.
including the Poncan Theater, the Marland Mansion and Marland's Grand Home. Ponca City is also holds several regional events each year, including the Festival of Angels in December.
has 1,500 employees and 650 contractors in its facilities in Ponca City. The company has a credit card center, a refining complex, a technology research center and a transportation office. The Ponca City Refinery, operated by ConocoPhillips, is the largest refinery in the state of Oklahoma.
E.W. Marland built the Ponca City refinery in 1918 and founded the Marland Oil Company
. In 1929, the Continental Oil Company merged with Marland, and the two became Conoco Inc.
The Conoco headquarters was in Ponca City until 1949, when it moved to Houston, Texas
. In 2002 Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company merged into ConocoPhillips.
(airport code PNC) (1007 feet above mean sea level) is located at the northwest corner of the city at 36 degrees 43.84 north latitude and 97 degrees 05.99 west longitude. The facility has a 7,201 foot 17-35 runway which is 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, and the un-towered facility has a full-length taxiway. The local airport booster club hosts a fly-in breakfast every first Saturday of the month, year around, "rain or shine".
at Kaw Lake
, a United States Army Corps of Engineers
project. The facility, located seven miles (11 km) east of Ponca City, dams the Arkansas River
. The electric utility is managed by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) of Edmond, Oklahoma
.
serves the general population's education requirements. Ponca City Public Schools serves over 5100 students.
High schools
Middle schools
Elementary schools
Ponca City has eight elementary schools to serve the district's pPre-K through 5th grade students:
In the cartoon
series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
, Bullwinkle is said to have relatives in Ponca City.
Kay County, Oklahoma
Kay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 48,080. Its county seat is Newkirk. The largest city in Kay County is Ponca City.-19th century:...
and Osage
Osage County, Oklahoma
Osage County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Coterminous with the Osage Indian Reservation, it is the home of the federally recognized Osage Nation. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,472 a 6.8 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 44,437...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, which was named after the Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, it lies approximately 18 miles (29 km) south of the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
border, and approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the time of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, making it the largest city in Kay County. The city is near the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
, the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
, Kaw Lake
Kaw Lake
Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City.Kaw Dam is long and above the stream bed. the dam lies above the mouth of the Arkansas River. The top of the flood control pool is , while the normal operating level is 1,010 feet.The...
, and Lake Ponca, which all provide numerous recreational opportunities.
Ponca City lies on approximately 18.1 square miles (46.9 km²) of land, and also has approximately 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) of water, for a total area of 19.3 square miles (50 km²). The city is served by the Ponca City Regional Airport (PNC), and is accessible by US-60, US-177, OK-11, and I-35.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 25,919 people, 10,636 households and 7,019 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1431 PD/sqmi. There were 11,871 housing units at an average density of 655.4 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 84.18% White, 2.99% African American, 6.27% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.43% of the population.
There were 10,636 households of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.
26.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,406, and the median income for a family was $39,846. Males had a median income of $32,283 versus $20,098 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,732. About 12.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Early history
Cherokee Outlet
The Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...
was opened for settlement during the Cherokee Strip land run, the largest land run
Land run
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...
in United States history. The site for Ponca City was selected for its proximity to the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
and the presence of a fresh water spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
near the river. The city was laid out by Burton Barnes, who drew up the first survey
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of the city and sold certificates for the lots he had surveyed. After the drawing for lots in the city was completed, Barnes was elected the city's first mayor.
Another city, Cross, vied with Ponca City to become the leading city in the area. After the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
had opened a station in Cross, people thought it would not open another one in Ponca City because the two cities were too close together. New Ponca boosters eventually secured a station after offering the Santa Fe station agent two town lots and the free relocation of his house from Cross. It is reported that Ponca City obtained its first boxcar station when some Ponca City supporters went to Cross one night and pulled the town's station to Ponca City. Cross eventually became defunct. In 1913 New Ponca changed its name to Ponca City.
Weather
The Ponca City region of Oklahoma is part of tornado alley. Tornadoes are most common in April, May and June. The photo shows a historic photo of a classic wide tornado funnel taken near Ponca City between 1890 and 1920.Influence of the petroleum industry
Ponca City's history has been shaped for the most part by the ebb and flow of the petroleum industry. The Marland Oil CompanyMarland Oil Company
Marland Oil Company was an American oil company founded in 1917, by Ponca City, Oklahoma oil exploration pioneer E. W. Marland when he assembled his various holdings including the 101 Ranch Oil Company into one unit, forming Marland Oil Company...
, which once controlled approximately 10 percent of the world's oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
, was founded by E. W. Marland
E. W. Marland
Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
. He founded the 101 Ranch Oil Company
101 Ranch Oil Company
Founded in 1908 by oil exploration pioneer E. W. Marland, The 101 Ranch Oil Company was located on the famous Miller Brothers 101 Ranch and headquartered in Ponca City, Oklahoma...
, located on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch
Miller Brothers 101 Ranch
The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was an cattle ranch in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma before statehood. Located near modern-day Ponca City, it was founded by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army, in 1893. The 101 Ranch was the birthplace of the 101 Ranch Wild West...
, and drilled his first successful oil well on land which he leased in 1911 from the Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
Tribe of American Indians. He was eventually elected the governor of Oklahoma governor and later as a U.S. congressman.
Marland's exploitation of oil reserves generated growth and wealth that were previously unimaginable on the Oklahoma prairie, and his company virtually built the city from the ground up. Mansions—including the Marland Mansion and Grand Home—were built by Marland and his associates. Because of this period of wealth and affluence, Ponca City has a high concentration of buildings that exemplify the popular Spanish revival architecture of the period, as well as art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-influenced buildings and homes.
The "Roaring 20s" came to an end for Ponca City shortly before the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. After a takeover bid by J.P. Morgan Jr., son of financier J.P. Morgan, Marland Oil Co. merged with Continental Oil Co. (Conoco) in the late 1920s. It was known as Conoco for more than 70 years. The company maintained its headquarters in Ponca City during this time and continued to grow into a global corporation.
During the oil boom years of the 1980s, Conoco was owned by the DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
Corp., which took control of the company in 1981. After nearly two decades of ownership and an oil bust that crippled Oklahoma's economy in the late 1980s, DuPont sold off its Conoco assets in 1998. In 2002, Conoco had merged with Phillips Petroleum (another major petroleum player with roots in northern Oklahoma) to become ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
. ConocoPhillips was then the sixth largest publicly traded oil company in the world, and the third largest in the United States. It maintains a significant presence in its historic home state.
Based in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips continues to operate one of the United States' largest refineries in Ponca City. The company has reduced its workforce and facilities there, and Ponca City's population has declined steadily since the early 1990s as a result. In February 2009, ConocoPhillips announced that all of its remaining non-refinery operations in Ponca City (representing 750 jobs) would be moved out of the city. The city's recent efforts to grow its economy beyond the petroleum industry have attracted a number of technology, manufacturing and service jobs.
In 2005, ConocoPhillips announced plans to build a $5 million museum across from its Ponca City refinery. Opened to the public in May, 2007, the Conoco Museum features artifacts, photographs and other historical items related to the petroleum industry and its culture in northern Oklahoma. A sister museum, Phillips Petroleum Company Museum, will be opened in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Funded by a private foundation, the Conoco Museum charges no admission fee.
Native American history
Ponca City is named after the Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
Tribe, part of which was relocated from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
to northern Oklahoma from 1877 to 1880. Like all of the forced American Indian removals of the 19th century, the Poncas' trek was arduous. Followed by the government's failure to provide adequate supplies, as well as malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
at their destination, nearly one-third of the Ponca died from illness and exposure. "Out of 700 Ponca who left the Nebraska reservation, 158 died in Oklahoma within two years."
The Ponca protested their conditions. Standing Bear's oldest son died in 1879. The chief had promised to bury him in his homeland, and about 60 Ponca accompanied him back to Nebraska. The US Army was ordered to arrest them for having left the reservation, and they were confined to Fort Omaha. Most of the tribal members who left eventually returned to the reservation in Oklahoma. With the aid of prominent attorneys working pro bono, Standing Bear filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging his arrest. The case of Standing Bear v. Crook (1879) was a landmark decision in the US District Court, where the judge ruled that Indians had the same legal rights as other United States citizens.
A statue was erected in his honor at the intersection of Highway 60 and South Fourth Street in Ponca City. In the late twentieth century, the city developed a park and museum, named in his honor.
The Ponca Nation, which has kept its headquarters south of Ponca City since 1879, played a major part in the development of the Marland Oil Co. and the city. Chief White Eagle leased resource-containing portions of the tribe's allotted land to E.W. Marland in 1911 for oil exploration and development.
Since the late 20th century, the Ponca Tribe has worked to build its infrastructure and improve services for its people. In February 2006, the tribe received a grant of more than $800,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
for debt retirement and economic development.
Nearby north-central tribes are the Kaw
Kaw (tribe)
The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...
, Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
, Otoe-Missouria
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians
The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians is a single, federally recognized tribe, located in Oklahoma. The tribe is made up of Otoe and Missouria Indians. Traditionally they spoke the Chiwere language, part of the Souian language family.-Government:...
, Pawnee and Tonkawa
Tonkawa
The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
. These are all federally recognized tribes, as is the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma. The Ponca traditionally speak the Omaha-Ponca language, part of the Souian language family. Another portion of the people belong to the larger Ponca Tribe of...
. In 1994 the six tribes established the Standing Bear Foundation and Pow-wow, beginning the first of annual shared pow-wows, to which they invite the public. They wanted to build collaboration among the tribes and with the non-Native residents of Ponca City. The pow-wow is now held in Standing Bear Park, which was named in honor of the notable Ponca chief.
Pioneer Woman statue and museum
E. W. Marland
Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
decided to create a statue commemorating the Pioneer Woman. Marland was reportedly asked, "E. W., why don't you have ... a statue to the vanishing American, a Ponca, Otoe, or an Osage - a monument of great size?" Marland answered, "the Indian is not the vanishing American - it's the pioneer woman." He sponsored a competition for the winning statue.
In 1928, miniature 3 foot (0.9144 m) sculptures were submitted as part of a competition by 12 U.S. and international sculptors: John Gregory
John Gregory (sculptor)
-Life:When he was about 12 years old his family immigrated to the United States where he began is sculptural studies at the Art Students League in New York City. He continued these at both the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and at the American Academy in Rome. At various times he studied with J...
, Maurice Sterne
Maurice Sterne
Maurice Sterne was an American sculptor and painter remembered today for his association with philanthropist Mabel Dodge Luhan, to whom he was married from 1916 to 1923. He began his career as a draftsman and painter, and critics noted the similarity of his work, in its volume and weight, to...
, Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil was an American sculptor born in Chelsea, Massachusetts.He was an instructor in industrial art at Cornell University from 1886 to 1889, and was then a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris...
, James Earle Fraser, Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher; son of the sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, and father of the sculptor Alexander Calder...
, Wheeler Williams
Wheeler Williams
Wheeler Williams was an American sculptor, born in Chicago, Illinois.-Life and career:Williams studied sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended Yale where he graduated Magna cum Laude in 1919. He received a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard in 1922...
, Mario Korbel
Mario Korbel
Mario Joseph Korbel, American sculptor born in Osik, Bohemia on March 22, 1882 to a clergyman, Joseph Korbel and his wife Katherina Dolezal Korbel. He began studying sculpture in his homeland, continuing his studies after moving to the United States at age 18...
, F. Lynn Jenkins, Mahonri Young
Mahonri Young
Mahonri Macintosh Young was an American sculptor and artist. Although he lived most of his life in New York City, Young is most remembered in Utah as being the grandson of Brigham Young, and who sculpted the This Is The Place Monument and the Seagull Monument in Salt Lake City...
, Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (sculptor)
Arthur Lee was an American sculptor, born in Trondheim, Norway. His family immigrated to the United States in 1888, settling in St. Paul, Minnesota...
, Jo Davidson
Jo Davidson
Jo Davidson was an American sculptor of Russian-Jewish descent. Although he specialized in realistic, intense portrait busts, Davidson did not require his subjects to formally pose for him; rather, he observed and spoke with them...
and Bryant Baker
Bryant Baker
Percy Bryant Baker was a British-born American sculptor.-Life and career:Baker was born on 8 July 1881 in London, England, the son and grandson of sculptors and stone carvers and the brother of sculptor Robert Baker...
). They were displayed in twelve cities around the state, where they were viewed by 750,000 people who voted for their favorite. The twelve original submissions have been on display at the museum at Woolaroc
Woolaroc
Woolaroc is located in the Osage Hills of Northeastern Oklahoma on Oklahoma State Highway 123 about southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma and north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woolaroc was established in 1925 as the ranch retreat of oilman Frank Phillips...
near Bartlesville, Oklahoma since the 1930s. Marland sold them to Frank Phillips after losing control of the Marland Oil Company.
The British-born American sculptor Bryant Baker was chosen as the winner. His full-scale work was unveiled in a public ceremony on April 22, 1930. Forty thousand guests came to hear Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
pay tribute to Oklahoma's pioneers. The statue is 27 feet (8.2 m) high and weighs 12,000 pounds.
A related museum commemorating Oklahoma women was opened on September 16, 1958, on the 65th anniversary of the Cherokee Strip land run. It recognizes the work of Native American as well as European-American women, and their leadership and stamina in creating homes, raising children and taking care of the work of sustaining life and communities.
Landmarks
Ponca City is home to several landmarks on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
including the Poncan Theater, the Marland Mansion and Marland's Grand Home. Ponca City is also holds several regional events each year, including the Festival of Angels in December.
Economy
ConocoPhillipsConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
has 1,500 employees and 650 contractors in its facilities in Ponca City. The company has a credit card center, a refining complex, a technology research center and a transportation office. The Ponca City Refinery, operated by ConocoPhillips, is the largest refinery in the state of Oklahoma.
E.W. Marland built the Ponca City refinery in 1918 and founded the Marland Oil Company
Marland Oil Company
Marland Oil Company was an American oil company founded in 1917, by Ponca City, Oklahoma oil exploration pioneer E. W. Marland when he assembled his various holdings including the 101 Ranch Oil Company into one unit, forming Marland Oil Company...
. In 1929, the Continental Oil Company merged with Marland, and the two became Conoco Inc.
Conoco Inc.
Conoco Inc. was an American oil company founded in 1875 as the Continental Oil and Transportation Company. It is now a brand of gasoline and service station in the United States which belongs to the ConocoPhillips Company...
The Conoco headquarters was in Ponca City until 1949, when it moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. In 2002 Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company merged into ConocoPhillips.
Airport
Ponca City Regional AirportPonca City Regional Airport
Ponca City Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Ponca City, in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. It is mostly used for general aviation...
(airport code PNC) (1007 feet above mean sea level) is located at the northwest corner of the city at 36 degrees 43.84 north latitude and 97 degrees 05.99 west longitude. The facility has a 7,201 foot 17-35 runway which is 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, and the un-towered facility has a full-length taxiway. The local airport booster club hosts a fly-in breakfast every first Saturday of the month, year around, "rain or shine".
Electricity
The Ponca City region receives electricity powered hydro-electricallyHydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
at Kaw Lake
Kaw Lake
Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City.Kaw Dam is long and above the stream bed. the dam lies above the mouth of the Arkansas River. The top of the flood control pool is , while the normal operating level is 1,010 feet.The...
, a United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
project. The facility, located seven miles (11 km) east of Ponca City, dams the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
. The electric utility is managed by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) of Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
.
Public education
Ponca City Public SchoolsPonca City Public Schools
Ponca City Public Schools is the public school district in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It operates seven elementary schools, two middle schools , and Ponca City High School. It employs 760 people and has over 5,000 students...
serves the general population's education requirements. Ponca City Public Schools serves over 5100 students.
High schools
- Ponca City High SchoolPonca City High SchoolPonca City High School is a public high school that serves 1,637 students in grades 9-12, located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. The current principal is Bo Hannaford.-References:...
- Ponca City High School (Po-Hi) serves all 9th through 12th grade students in the school district. - Ombudsman Alternative Education Center - provides select students the option to take a mostly technology-based route through high school.
Middle schools
- East Middle School - East Middle School serves Ponca City's approximately 380 8th grade students in the Ponca City Public School system.
- West Middle School - West Middle School serves all of the district's 6th and 7th grade students
Elementary schools
Ponca City has eight elementary schools to serve the district's pPre-K through 5th grade students:
- Garfield Elementary
- Liberty Elementary
- Lincoln Elementary
- Roosevelt Elementary
- Trout Elementary
- Union Elementary
- Washington Elementary (became the Alternative School, but was closed at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.)
- Woodlands Elementary
Private education
Ponca City has three private schools that serve students from pre-K through 8th grade:- Ponca City Christian Academy
- First Lutheran School
- St. Mary's Catholic School
Higher education
- Pioneer Technology CenterPioneer Technology CenterPioneer Technology Center is a public career and technology education center located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Pioneer serves 14 school districts and is part of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system.-Student organizations:...
serves high school and adult students from throughout the surrounding area. PTC also has co-operative degree programs with Northern Oklahoma CollegeNorthern Oklahoma CollegeNorthern Oklahoma College is a community college located in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, with additional campuses located in Enid, Oklahoma and Stillwater, Oklahoma. Student enrollment is approximately 2,700.-History:...
and Cowley County Community CollegeCowley County Community CollegeCowley College is a two-year college located in Arkansas City, Kansas. It also operates satellite facilities in nearby Winfield, Wellington, Mulvane, and Wichita, and offers distance-learning classes at nine area high schools. Cowley College is accredited by the NCA's Higher Learning Commission.-... - University Learning Center offers ITV (interactive television) classes from several area universities, including Northern Oklahoma CollegeNorthern Oklahoma CollegeNorthern Oklahoma College is a community college located in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, with additional campuses located in Enid, Oklahoma and Stillwater, Oklahoma. Student enrollment is approximately 2,700.-History:...
, Oklahoma State University and The University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
Research facilities
- Ponca City is the headquarters for Oklahoma State University's University Multispectral Laboratory.
Points of interest
- 101 Ranch MemorialMiller Brothers 101 RanchThe Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was an cattle ranch in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma before statehood. Located near modern-day Ponca City, it was founded by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army, in 1893. The 101 Ranch was the birthplace of the 101 Ranch Wild West...
- Cann Memorial Botanical GardensCann Memorial Botanical GardensThe Cann Memorial Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens located at 1500 East Grand Avenue, Ponca City, Oklahoma, USA....
- Conoco Museum
- Hutchins Memorial
- Lake Ponca
- Lew Wentz Public Pool and Golf Course
- Marland Grand Home
- E. W. Marland MansionE. W. Marland MansionE. W. Marland Mansion, or Ernest Whitworth Marland Mansion or Marland Estate, in Ponca City, Oklahoma is a Mediterranean Revival style mansion significant for its architecture. The home was built by Oklahoma governor and oilman E. W...
- Pioneer Woman Statue and Museum
- Ponca TribePonca Tribe of Indians of OklahomaThe Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma. The Ponca traditionally speak the Omaha-Ponca language, part of the Souian language family. Another portion of the people belong to the larger Ponca Tribe of...
Headquarters - Standing BearStanding BearStanding Bear was a Ponca Native American chief who successfully argued in U.S...
Memorial
In popular culture
The Town of Ponca City was one of the filming locations for 1996 movie Twister.In the cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
, Bullwinkle is said to have relatives in Ponca City.
Notable natives and residents
- Douglas BlubaughDouglas BlubaughDouglas Morlan Blubaugh , was an American wrestler and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he received a gold medal in freestyle welterweight, defeating the five-time world champion Emam-Ali Habibi.Blubaugh, born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, was a two-time AAU...
, 1960 Olympic1960 Summer OlympicsThe 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
Gold Medalist in wrestling - Mike BoettcherMike BoettcherMike Boettcher is an award winning American journalist and war correspondent. Mike is currently embedded in Iraq and Afghanistan.-External links:**...
, news correspondent, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... - Lou ClintonLou ClintonLuciean Louis Clinton was a Major League Baseball outfielder who batted and threw right-handed, spanning 8 seasons, debuting in and playing his final season in , during which he played for five American League teams in the 1960s: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles/California Angels, Kansas City...
, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Stanley Ann Dunham, mother of U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
- Jon KolbJon KolbJon Kolb is a former offensive lineman with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he played for 13 seasons.-High school and Oklahoma State:...
, former offensive lineman with the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... - Brandie KnightBrandie KnightBrandie Knight is an American writer, who has spent over twenty years in the entertainment industry, and co-producer of the award-winning documentary "a/k/a Tommy Chong"...
, author and film producer - Candy LovingCandy LovingCandy Loving is an American model. She was Playboy 's Playmate of the Month for the January 1979 issue, which made her the magazine's 25th Anniversary Playmate...
, Playboy Playmate, January, 1979 - E. W. MarlandE. W. MarlandErnest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
, businessman and politician - Gale McArthurGale McArthurGale McArthur was an All-American basketball player at Oklahoma A&M University .McArthur, a 6'2 guard from Mangum, Oklahoma, attended Oklahoma A&M and played basketball for Hall of Fame coach Henry Iba from 1948-51...
, All-American basketball player at Oklahoma State University - W. H. McFaddenW. H. McFadden-Early life:William H. McFadden, born in Moundsville, West Virginia on June 11, 1869, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma...
, oilman and philanthropist - Don NicklesDon NicklesDonald Lee Nickles is an American businessman and politician who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 until 2005. He was a fiscal and social conservative.-Early life:...
, former United States Senator - Bill PickettBill PickettWillie M. "Bill" Pickett was a cowboy and rodeo performer.Pickett was born in the Jenks-Branch community of Travis County, Texas. He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary "Janie" Gilbert. Pickett had 4 brothers and 8 sisters...
, cowboy - Don PuddyDon PuddyDonald R. Puddy was a NASA engineer and manager. He joined NASA in 1964, eventually becoming the agency's tenth flight director.His Flight Team colors were Crimson. He served as a flight director during the Apollo 17, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project missions, Skylab, and the first Space...
, NASA Flight Director - MarkMark RyalMark Dwayne Ryal is a former professional baseball player who played six seasons for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He also played two seasons in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons...
and Rusty RyalRusty RyalRusty Allen Ryal is an American professional baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. He was picked by the Diamondbacks in the 14th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, Ryal played baseball at Oklahoma State University...
, father and son Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players. - Kareem SalamaKareem SalamaKareem Salama is an Egyptian American musician. He is known as the first American Muslim country music singer. His music is a hybrid of country, pop and rock music...
, country and western singer - Standing BearStanding BearStanding Bear was a Ponca Native American chief who successfully argued in U.S...
, Poncan Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
leader - Anthony TaylorAnthony Taylor (bishop)Anthony Basil Taylor , formerly of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, was appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Little Rock in the USA by Pope Benedict XVI on 10 April 2008, the seventh bishop of the diocese...
, Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas - Joyce Carol ThomasJoyce Carol ThomasJoyce Carol Thomas is an African-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and best-selling author of more than 30 children's books. She was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma and currently resides in Berkeley, California. She moved with her family in 1948 to Tracy, California. Thomas received a...
, children's author - Lew WentzLewis Haines WentzLewis Haines Wentz was an American oil businessman.-Early life:Lewis Haines Wentz, born in Tama, Iowa on November 10, 1877, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma...
, oilman and philanthropist - Shelby WilsonShelby WilsonShelby Wilson is an American wrestler and Olympic champion. A native of Ponca City, Oklahoma, he competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he received a gold medal in freestyle lightweight. He later became a high school wrestling coach at Owen Valley Community High School.-References:...
, 1960 Olympic1960 Summer OlympicsThe 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
Gold Medalist in wrestling