County of city hall: Osage County
Location of city hall: Main and Grandview Ave. , Pawhuska
Phone: (918) 287-3040
Built 1894
The location is the council house, the center of the reservation. The whole county is the reservation, and assimilated within the current political systems of the states.
"The Osage are a Midwestern Native American Siouan-speaking tribe of the Great Plains who originated in the Ohio River valley in the area. The term "Osage" is considered an ancient name which roughly translates into "mid-waters".
After years of war with the invading Iroquois, by the mid-17th century, the Osage migrated from the Ohio valley with other Siouan tribes, settling west to their historic lands in present-day Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas . At the height of their power in the early 18th century, the Osage had become the dominant power in their region, controlling the area between the Missouri and Red River to the South." ~ Wikipedia
In a monument area just on the west side of town are these 4 markers for their history:
(1):
PAWHUSKA
"A PICTURE WINDOW OF OUR HERITAGE,
THE COWBOY, THE INDIAN,
THE RICH OIL HISTORY!!"
Pawhuska, Oklahoma county seat of Osage County was named for well known Osage Chief Pa-Hus-Ka whose name means
White Hair.
The Post Office was established May 4, 1876.
A community who embraces with pride the reflections of our past and envisions that wisdom in building the future from this great heritage. We are proud and privileged to be an important part of America's natural and cultural history.
(2):
PAWHUSKA
"THE OSAGE TRIBE OF INDIANS"
In memory and dedication to those whose foresight, frustration and sacrifices have helped the Osage Tribe to preserve its idenity [sic], development and culture.
1865 - The Osages agreed to the sale of their Kansas lands.
1871 - 1872 the Osages were removed to a reservation in the Indian Territory. This land was purchased from the Cherokee Nation by the Osage Tribe.
1881 - The Osage Tribe formed an organized government
June 1883; Cherokee Nation conveyed by deed to the United States in trust for the Osage Indians the lands. The Osage reservation, now Osage County, Oklahoma, embracing 1470559 acres. The lands purchased became the final and permanent home of the Osages.
(3):
PAWHUSKA
"THE COWBOY OF THE OSAGE"
We honor the memory and the spirit of those who worked this big country, their personal sacrifices and determination. We salute others who will carry on the traditions of integrity, and the heritage of care of the wide and rolling prairie.
With no one to account to but themselves, the market, and to God, the cowboy of the Osage believed they had a piece of cowboy heaven, "Right here on Earth", a belief shared even today.
A tribute to the old cowboy creed. Osage County has become known as one of the most renowned cattle grazing areas in the United States.
(4):
PAWHUSKA
"THE RICH OIL HISTORY OF THE OSAGE"
The legacy of oil and the Osages is one of the most intriguing facts of the oil industry in America.
On March 16, 1896, the first oil and gas lease was obtained covering all the Osage reservation, and on October 28, 1897 the first producing well was completed and oil sold May, 1900.
The oil sold from this well was the first sold from an oil well in Oklahoma.
Since this historic beginning, billions of barrels of oil have been sold from wells in the Osage Nation, and Osage County became the state's most prolific oil producing area.
"Pawhuska is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States, and the capital of the federally recognized Osage Nation. It is in the Tulsa metropolitan area, which includes part of Osage County.
'The population of the city was 3,589 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1.2 percent from 3,629 at the 2000 census. It was named after the 19th-century Osage chief, Paw-Hiu-Skah, which means "White Hair" in English.
"The Osage tribal government, which opened offices in Pawhuska in 1872 when its reservation was established in Indian Territory, continues to be based in the city. The United States' first Boy Scout troop was organized here in 1909.
"The town, originally known as Deep Ford, was established in 1872 with the reservation for the Osage Nation, part of Indian Territory. The Osage Indian Agency was located along Bird Creek. One of the three main bands of the tribe settled here. Traders followed, building stores during 1872 and 1873. Pawhuska's first newspaper, the Indian Herald (also known as Wah-Sha-She News.), was founded in 1875 by George Edward Tinker, an Osage who became the father of Clarence L. Tinker, highest-ranking Native American officer in the US Army. The first post office opened in 1876.
"The Midland Valley Railroad reached Pawhuska in September 1905. By the time of statehood in 1907, the town population was 2,407.
"During the Osage oil boom of the 1910s and 1920s, Pawhuska was the site of public lease options. The population grew to 6,414 by 1920. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad extended its line from Owen, a community in Washington County, to Pawhuska in 1923. As the oil boom declined and the Great Depression set in, the population declined. The steady decline has continued through each census to the present.
"Other than cattle ranches nearby, local employment consisted primarily of a brick plant, a creamery, an ice factory, and a rock crusher. The Osage Nation has opened a gaming casino here, hoping to generate revenue for the tribe." ~ Wikipedia