Long before Tulsa was a city, it was originally part of Indian Territory. The Indians that first settled it were the Creek and Lochapoka tribes around 1836. These tribes called their how by the name of “Tallasi,” and this later became Tulsa. It was in January of 1898 that Tulsa was officially incorporated and their first elected mayor was Edward Calkins.
Not long after the city was incorporated, their first oil well was established in 1901 close to the banks of the Arkansas River. This oil well was given the name of Sue Bland No. 1. Four years later, a large Glenn Pool was discovered and this brought many entrepreneurs into the area. There were a growing number of oil fields that were being discovered in this area and Tulsa came to be known as the oil capital of the world during this time.
Tulsa’s population grew to nearly one hundred fifty thousand people in under thirty years. Tulsa’s great success brought on years of heavy construction to the city. The city grew rapidly in this era. Even during the Great Depression, Tulsa was doing better than most other places in the United States.
Tulsa was home to a different kind of Wall Street in the early twentieth century. Tulsa was home to the most prosperous African American community in the 1920s and their community was known as the “Black Wall Street.” Unfortunately, this was the site of the Tulsa Race Riot, which was one of the most expensive racial violence outbreaks.
There were sixteen hours of rioting altogether and there were over eight hundred people that ended up in hospitals. More than ten thousand people were left homeless and thirty-five city blocks were destroyed by fire. However, with all this destruction, there were fewer than fifty people reported dead.
n the later 1920s, a businessman named Cyrus Avery started working on his campaign to create a road connecting Chicago to California. He founded the U.S. Highway 66 Association in Tulsa and earned the city the nickname “Birthplace of Route 66.”
This United States route played an important part in Tulsa’s further development. After this Route 66 was finished, Tulsa became a popular stop for travelers who needed rest and food. Around 1935, a place called Cain’s Ballroom became a popular hangout for those travelers that stopped and for the locals. This venue attracted many famous musicians throughout its history. This business is still open today.
Like many other places in the country, Tulsa continued to grow and change through the decades. Tulsa was even named the “America’s Most Beautiful City” in the 1950s. In 1982, Tulsa was greatly affected by a national recession. There was a freefall of gas prices at this time and both Oklahoma and Texas were affected.
RE/MAX of Oklahoma (http://www.remax-oklahoma.com/tulsa-oklahoma-real-estate.aspx) are experts at helping you find the perfect piece of Tulsa real estate for your needs. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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