Tulsa /ˈtʌlsə/ is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census.[2] It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 1,015,331 residents.[3] The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma,[6] with urban development extending into Osage, Rogers, and Wagoner counties.[7]
Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe and most of Tulsa is still part of the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.[8][a]
Historically, a robust energy sector fueled Tulsa's economy; however, today the city has diversified and leading sectors include finance, aviation, telecommunications and technology.[9] Two institutions of higher education within the city have sports teams at the NCAA Division I level, Oral Roberts University, the University of Tulsa and University of Oklahoma -Tulsa Schusterman Center which is the second Campus after Norman. For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname "Oil Capital of the World" and played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry.[10]
It is situated on the Arkansas River between the Osage Hills and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as "Green Country". Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma,[11][12] Tulsa houses two art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture.[13] The city has been called one of America's most livable large cities by Partners for Livable Communities,[14] Forbes,[15] and Relocate America.[16] FDi Magazine in 2009 ranked the city no. 8 in the U.S. for cities of the future.[17] In 2012, Tulsa was ranked among the top 50 best cities in the United States by BusinessWeek.[18] People from Tulsa are called "Tulsans".
The area where Tulsa now exists is considered Indian Territory, on the land of the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Wahzhazhe Ma zha (Osage), Muscogee (Creek), and Caddo tribes, among others,[19] before it was first formally settled by the Lochapoka and Creek tribes in 1836.[20] They established a small settlement under the Creek Council Oak Tree at the present-day intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and 18th Street. This area and this tree reminded Chief Tukabahchi and his small group of the Trail of Tears survivors of the bend in the river and their previous Creek Council Oak Tree back in the Tallassee, Alabama area. They named their new settlement Tallasi, meaning "old town" in the Creek language, which later became "Tulsa".[20] The area around Tulsa was also settled by members of the other so-called "Five Civilized Tribes" who had been relocated to Oklahoma from the Southern United States. Most of modern Tulsa is located in the Creek Nation, with parts located in the Cherokee and Osage Nations.
Although Oklahoma was not yet a state during the Civil War, the Tulsa area saw its share of fighting. The Battle of Chusto-Talasah took place on the north side of Tulsa and several battles and skirmishes took place in nearby counties. After the War, the tribes signed Reconstruction treaties with the federal government that in some cases required substantial land concessions. In the years after the Civil War and around the turn of the century, the area along the Arkansas River that is now Tulsa was periodically home to or visited by a series of colorful outlaws, including the legendary Wild Bunch, the Dalton Gang, and Little Britches.