Salina, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Salina is a town in Mayes County
, Oklahoma
, United States
. The population was 1,396 at the 2010 census
, a slight decline from 1,422 at the 2000 census
.
was a major tribe in the area.
In 1541 the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto
and expedition passed through the area as did the 1721 expedition of Bernard de la Harpe
, who gave their own Spanish names to many of the local streams, already named by the Osage.
Jean Pierre Chouteau
established the first trading post in 1796 at the junction of the Grand/Neosho River
and Saline Creek to trade with the Osage Indians
. Remembered today as one of the first permanent "white" (European-American) settlements in present-day Oklahoma, at that time the area was part of the Province of Louisiana
. The United States took possession of the land that included Salina with the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803.
By 1817, keelboats were landing goods there from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and the area was part of what was known as "Indian Territory
" of the United States. That year, son Auguste Pierre Chouteau
and partner Joseph Revoir received an exclusive license from Spanish authorities to trade with the Osage. In 1820, the Spanish government of the time took the monopoly away. Chouteau convinced the Osage tribe, under the leadership of Cashesgra ("Big Trek") to migrate into Indian Territory near the trading post, ensuring survival of the business.
In 1820, the United States Department of War
authorized Epaphras Chapman was authorized by to establish the Union Mission
, near the mouth of Chouteau Creek, to educate and convert
the Osage Indians. The mission had the first printing press in present-day Oklahoma. The government then began to remove Native American tribes to the area in exchange for their lands in the Southeast.
The Indians boiled salt from the water rising from limestone rock about a mile south of the trading post. Springs included one hot water geyser that shot boiling water 8 to 10 feet (3 m) into the air. Chouteau obtained the springs in a treaty in 1825 and sold them to Sam Houston
in 1830. A Cherokee
, Captain John Rogers, began making salt from the springs and named them Grand Saline. He built his home nearby. Washington Irving
visited on October 6, 1832, accompanied by Sam Houston. In 1838 the government began moving Cherokee
to the area in implementation of the Indian Removal Act
.
By 1839, Rogers was operating 115 salt kettles. He lost the salt works in 1844 to the Cherokee Nation under a new law defining their territory. The Cherokee leased the works to Lewis Ross (brother of Chief John Ross
). Ross built a house there and operated the salt business using African American
slave labor. Drilling for salt water, Ross accidentally hit the first vein of oil in Oklahoma in 1859. It flowed at the rate of 10 barrels a day for a year. He operated two stores in Salina.
In 1862 during the American Civil War
, Union soldiers came down the Grand River to Salina unopposed and set all slaves free. They ransacked the Ross home, had the slaves load everything on wagons and hauled the goods across the border to Kansas
. In 1872 the Cherokee Nation purchased the Ross home for $26,000 and used it for years as the Cherokee Orphan Asylum. It was destroyed by fire in 1899. Rebuilt, the structure is now used as a gym.
Cherokee Chief Samuel Houston Mayes
established a ferry
and mercantile business on the Grand River in 1906. During his term as Chief, the Dawes Commission
of 1902/1906 divided the Cherokee lands into allotments of approximately 110 acres per household, breaking up the communal lands. They allotted 40 acres per household for Cherokee Freedmen, regardless if they had Cherokee ancestry or not.
The establishment of the Old Chouteau Trading Post at Salina was commemorated on October 10, 11, 1938 and became a local annual celebration. Among those speaking at the inaugural were Governor Elect Leon C. Phillips, Dr. M. L. Wardell of the University of Oklahoma, Mr. Thomas J. Harrison of Pryor, and Yvonne Chouteau
descendant of Jean Pierre Chouteau.
In June 1952, county attorney Jack Burris
was assassinated at his home near Salina in one of the most famous unsolved murders in Oklahoma history.
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which, 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (8.04%) is water.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 1,422 people, 562 households, and 351 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,375.2 people per square mile (533.0/km²). There were 668 housing units at an average density of 646.0 per square mile (250.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 59.56% White, 0.14% African American, 34.74% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.28% from other races
, and 5.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.04% of the population.
There were 562 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $23,519, and the median income for a family was $31,000. Males had a median income of $26,552 versus $17,292 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $11,928. About 16.2% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 27.5% of those age 65 or over.
Mayes County, Oklahoma
Mayes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was named for Samuel Houston Mayes, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899. According to the 2010 census the population was 41,259, a 7.5 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 38,369...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 1,396 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
, a slight decline from 1,422 at 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...
.
History
For thousands of years indigenous people had lived along the rivers in this area, with varying cultures. By the time of European encounter, the OsageOsage 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,...
was a major tribe in the area.
In 1541 the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
and expedition passed through the area as did the 1721 expedition of Bernard de la Harpe
Bernard de la Harpe
Bernard de la Harpe or Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe was a French explorer who is credited with the discovery of Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1722, la Harpe found two distinct rock formations on the Arkansas River, the smaller one the South bank he named La Petite Roche and the larger on the North...
, who gave their own Spanish names to many of the local streams, already named by the Osage.
Jean Pierre Chouteau
Jean Pierre Chouteau
Jean Pierre Chouteau was a French-Canadian fur trader, merchant, politician and slaveholder. An early settler of St. Louis, Missouri, he became one its most prominent citizens. He and his brother Auguste Chouteau, known as the "river barons", negotiated the many political changes as the city...
established the first trading post in 1796 at the junction of the Grand/Neosho River
Neosho River
The Neosho River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in eastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. Its tributaries also drain portions of Missouri and Arkansas. The river is about long. Via the Arkansas, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.- Course :The Neosho's...
and Saline Creek to trade with the Osage Indians
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,...
. Remembered today as one of the first permanent "white" (European-American) settlements in present-day Oklahoma, at that time the area was part of the Province of Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
. The United States took possession of the land that included Salina with the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
in 1803.
By 1817, keelboats were landing goods there from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and the area was part of what was known as "Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
" of the United States. That year, son Auguste Pierre Chouteau
Auguste Pierre Chouteau
August Pierre Chouteau was a member of the Chouteau fur trading family who established posts in Oklahoma....
and partner Joseph Revoir received an exclusive license from Spanish authorities to trade with the Osage. In 1820, the Spanish government of the time took the monopoly away. Chouteau convinced the Osage tribe, under the leadership of Cashesgra ("Big Trek") to migrate into Indian Territory near the trading post, ensuring survival of the business.
In 1820, the United States Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
authorized Epaphras Chapman was authorized by to establish the Union Mission
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
, near the mouth of Chouteau Creek, to educate and convert
Convert
The convert or try, in American football known as "point after", and Canadian football "Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights , or...
the Osage Indians. The mission had the first printing press in present-day Oklahoma. The government then began to remove Native American tribes to the area in exchange for their lands in the Southeast.
The Indians boiled salt from the water rising from limestone rock about a mile south of the trading post. Springs included one hot water geyser that shot boiling water 8 to 10 feet (3 m) into the air. Chouteau obtained the springs in a treaty in 1825 and sold them to Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
in 1830. A Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Captain John Rogers, began making salt from the springs and named them Grand Saline. He built his home nearby. Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
visited on October 6, 1832, accompanied by Sam Houston. In 1838 the government began moving Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
to the area in implementation of the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
.
By 1839, Rogers was operating 115 salt kettles. He lost the salt works in 1844 to the Cherokee Nation under a new law defining their territory. The Cherokee leased the works to Lewis Ross (brother of Chief John Ross
John Ross (Cherokee chief)
John Ross , also known as Guwisguwi , was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Native American Nation from 1828–1866...
). Ross built a house there and operated the salt business using African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slave labor. Drilling for salt water, Ross accidentally hit the first vein of oil in Oklahoma in 1859. It flowed at the rate of 10 barrels a day for a year. He operated two stores in Salina.
In 1862 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Union soldiers came down the Grand River to Salina unopposed and set all slaves free. They ransacked the Ross home, had the slaves load everything on wagons and hauled the goods across the border to 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...
. In 1872 the Cherokee Nation purchased the Ross home for $26,000 and used it for years as the Cherokee Orphan Asylum. It was destroyed by fire in 1899. Rebuilt, the structure is now used as a gym.
Cherokee Chief Samuel Houston Mayes
Samuel Houston Mayes
Samuel Houston Mayes was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899.-Background:He was born May 11, 1845, near Stilwell, Oklahoma and was named for Samuel Houston, a friend of his father, Samuel Mayes. He was brother of Joel B. Mayes...
established a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and mercantile business on the Grand River in 1906. During his term as Chief, the Dawes Commission
Dawes Commission
The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...
of 1902/1906 divided the Cherokee lands into allotments of approximately 110 acres per household, breaking up the communal lands. They allotted 40 acres per household for Cherokee Freedmen, regardless if they had Cherokee ancestry or not.
The establishment of the Old Chouteau Trading Post at Salina was commemorated on October 10, 11, 1938 and became a local annual celebration. Among those speaking at the inaugural were Governor Elect Leon C. Phillips, Dr. M. L. Wardell of the University of Oklahoma, Mr. Thomas J. Harrison of Pryor, and Yvonne Chouteau
Yvonne Chouteau
Myra Yvonne Chouteau is one of the "Five Moons" or Native prima ballerinas of Oklahoma. In 1962 she and her husband founded the first fully accredited university dance program in the United States, at the University of Oklahoma. A member of the Shawnee Tribe, she is also of ethnic French...
descendant of Jean Pierre Chouteau.
In June 1952, county attorney Jack Burris
Jack Burris
Jack Burris served as County attorney of Mayes County, Oklahoma from 1947 until his murder in June 1952. He was the subject of one of the most famous unsolved murders in Oklahoma history...
was assassinated at his home near Salina in one of the most famous unsolved murders in Oklahoma history.
Geography
Salina is located at 36°17′33"N 95°9′9"W (36.292576, -95.152608). The town is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Hudson, formed by the impoundment of the Grand RiverGrand River (Oklahoma)
The Grand River is an alternate name for the lower section of the Neosho River, a tributary of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. "Grand River" refers to the section of river below the confluence of the Neosho and Spring rivers in Ottawa County near Miami...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which, 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (8.04%) is water.
Demographics
As of 2010 Salina had a population of of 1,396. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 52.0% white, 0.1% African American, 37.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from some other race and 10.2% reprting two or more races. 1.0% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.As of the census
Census
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 1,422 people, 562 households, and 351 families residing in the town. 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 1,375.2 people per square mile (533.0/km²). There were 668 housing units at an average density of 646.0 per square mile (250.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 59.56% White, 0.14% African American, 34.74% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.28% 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 5.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.04% of the population.
There were 562 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $23,519, and the median income for a family was $31,000. Males had a median income of $26,552 versus $17,292 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 town was $11,928. About 16.2% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 27.5% of those age 65 or over.