Вевока, Оклахома: История и нефтяная лихорадка

Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County. Founded by a Black Seminole, John Coheia, and Black Seminoles in January, 1849, Wewoka is the capital of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Wewoka's history begins with Black Seminole John Horse, who was also known as Gopher John. In the spring of 1849, Horse and a group of Black Seminoles founded a settlement near modern day Wewoka. During the American Civil War, the Seminole Nation had sided with the Confederacy, although many tribe members fled to the relative safety of Kansas, where they remained for the duration of the war. In 1866, after the Confederacy surrendered, the United States government required the Seminole Nation to sign a new treaty, which required them to emancipate their slaves, give freedmen who wanted to stay in the territory full rights as citizens, including voting in the tribe. Brown led the refugees back to Wewoka, here he built himself a house and established a trading post. Freedmen settled in Wewoka along with the Seminole and Elijah Brown was the only legal white settler in the town. The trading post had several subsequent proprietors before it was bought by two Seminole brothers, John Frippo Brown and A. J. Brown, and became the Wewoka Trading Company in 1891. Rev. James Ross Ramsey, a Presbyterian missionary, founded the Ramsey Mission (considered the first school in present Seminole County) in 1866. A post office was established on May 13, 1867, with E. J. Brown as first postmaster. The Seminole Nation made Wewoka their capital city and Seminole Governor John Brown had a log house erected at Wewoka as the Seminole capitol in 1877. They were prominent Seminole of Creek and Scottish ancestry. Descendants included two prominent Seminole chiefs, Lucy Brown McKellop and her husband John F. McKellop. The house still stands, the last remaining structure of the Nineteenth Seminole Republic. It straddles the border between the Seminole and Creek nations and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On 16 March 1923, oil was discovered two miles southeast of Wewoka by R. H. Smith, part of the Greater Seminole Oil Field. Great wealth was realized by many Seminole in 1925 with the exploration of the Magnolia Petroleum Company. In the 1920s and 30s the great Seminole Oil Fields were the largest suppliers of oil anywhere in the world. In 1925 the population of Wewoka was 1,520. By 1927 the population increased to over 20,000, as adventurers and workers came, to make their fortunes. It rapidly had become the third largest city in Oklahoma. From 1927 to the present, the oil companies took out as much as they could get. As the oil decreased, jobs and people left the city. By 1950 the population of Wewoka was 6,753 and in 1960 it was 6,300. The population continued a steady decline, but the city has continued as the commercial center of the region. The 1980s and 1990s were difficult for the city. Businesses left town and poverty greatly increased. The city leaders tried to protect themselves by refusing to allow competition, like Wal Mart, to enter the city. Holdenville and Seminole do have Wal Mart stores. Seminole's Wal Mart has the super center configuration offering groceries as well as dry goods. The crime rate in Wewoka during the 1980s increased; the radio commentator Paul Harvey called Wewoka "Little Chicago," because it had a higher crime rate per capita than the city of Chicago. The violence in the city caused people to avoid coming to Wewoka and gave the city a reputation that continues to linger. By the mid 1990s, new leadership began to turn commerce around in the city. The police force was increased and began to get the crime rate under control. The crime rate by 2001 was below average for the state of Oklahoma. The historic downtown received a face lift of new sidewalks, streets, lights and flowers. Wewoka was selected as one of Channel 5's Top Five Cities in 2004. The city of Wewoka continues to work to attract businesses and maintain population. The current population of Wewoka is just over 3,500. The projections show that the city will continue to decrease in the coming years. The ethnic diversity continues, with 52% white, 22% American Indian and 18% African American. The average household income is approximately $37,000 a year, a substantial increase over 2002. According to the demographic comparison, the number of households is decreasing, but the income of those living in Wewoka is increasing.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.5 km2), all land.

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,430 people, 3,177 households, and 803 families residing in Wewoka. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.23. While developed by the City of Wewoka in the 1920s as a water reservoir, opportunities at the lake today include fishing & boating; RV & primitive camping; and, swimming & water skiing. Sportsman Lake is to the northwest. the lake offers boat docks and ramps; primitive campsites as well as RV sites; equestrian trails and facilities; and, other amenities.

The Seminole National Museum opened in 1974, after about ten years of planning by the Seminole community in Oklahoma. It is housed in a native stone building that initially served as the Wewoka Community Center, after it was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1934. It operates as a non profit organization, and does not charge an admission fee to visitors. The building has expanded from the original to and includes display space, a research library, an arts and crafts center, an art gallery, a small office and a gift shop. The museum offers educational courses both on site and on the road (both in Oklahoma and in other parts of the United States. The museum estimates that it has had over half a million visitors from every state in the U. S. and over 100 other countries, since its opening. Vance Trimble, a Pulitzer Prize winning news reporter, editor and author, donated an extensive collection of research materials he used in writing his book, Alice & J. F. B., a biography of Seminole chiefs Alice Brown Davis and John F. Brown. Trimble had turned down a request for these materials from the University of Oklahoma Western History Collection because the subjects of the book were central to the history of the Seminoles and the city of Wewoka.

Wewoka is home to an annual Sorghum Days celebration in the fall. Sorghum molasses is prepared on site at the Seminole Nation Museum grounds. The sorghum is cooked from cane juice pressed in an authentic mule driven cane press, a rarity today. Sorghum is sold on fry bread on the museum grounds for visitors to enjoy. Sorghum is not an agricultural crop of the Wewoka area; a small patch is grown for this celebration. Past Sorghum Day parade marshals include actor Ken Curtis, best known for his portrayal of Festus Haggen on the long running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.