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Ponca City is a city located in north central Oklahoma, 18 miles south of the Kansas border and 15 miles east of Interstate 35. The population was 29,948 at the 2000 census. Ponca City is the most populous town in Kay County. The city is near the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River and Kaw Lake which provide recreational opportunities.

Geography

Ponca City is located at (36.712422, -97.072431).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 50.0 km² (19.3 mi²). 46.9 km² (18.1 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (6.26%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,919 people, 10,636 households, and 7,019 families residing in the city. The population density was 552.6/km² (1,431.0/mi²). There were 11,871 housing units at an average density of 253.1/km² (655.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.18% White, 2.99% African American, 6.27% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.08% from other races, and 3.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.43% of the population.

There were 10,636 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,406, and the median income for a family was $39,846. Males had a median income of $32,283 versus $20,098 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,732. About 12.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

History and the Petroleum Industry

Ponca City's history has been shaped for the most part by the ebb and flow of the petroleum industry. The Marland Oil Co., which once controlled approximately 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, was founded by eventual Oklahoma governor and U.S. congressman E. W. Marland, who drilled his first successful oil well on land he leased from the Ponca Tribe of American Indians in 1910.

Marland's luck and tenacity would fuel growth and wealth that were previously unimaginable on the Oklahoma prairie, and his company virtually built the city from the ground up. Decadent 1920s mansions -- including the famed Marland Mansion and Grand Home -- were built by Marland and his associates. Because of this period of wealth and affluence, Ponca City has an unusually high concentration of buildings that exemplify the popular Spanish revival architecture of the period, as well as art deco-influenced buildings and homes.

The so-called "Roaring 20s" would come to an end for Ponca City shortly before the Great Depression. After a takeover bid by J.P. Morgan Jr., son of famed financier J.P. Morgan, Marland Oil Co. eventually merged with Continental Oil Co. in the late 1920s and would be known as Conoco for more than 70 years. The company maintained its headquarters in Ponca City during this time and continued to grow into a global corporation.

During the oil boom years of the 1980s, Conoco was owned by the DuPont Corp., which took control of the company in 1981. After nearly two decades of ownership and an oil bust that crippled Oklahoma's economy in the late 1980s, DuPont eventually sold off its Conoco assets in 1998. By 2002, Conoco had merged with Phillips Petroleum (interestingly, another major petroleum player with roots in northern Oklahoma) to become ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips is now one of the five largest oil companies in the world and maintains a significant presence in its historic home state.

Based in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips continues to operate one of the United States' largest refineries in Ponca City, as well as offices at the former Phillips Petroleum corporate headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The company's presence is much smaller than it once was, and Ponca City's population has declined steadily since the early 1990s as a result. However, recent efforts to grow the city's economy beyond the petroleum industry have landed a number of technology, manufacturing and service jobs.

In 2005, ConocoPhillips announced plans to build a $5 million dollar museum across from its Ponca City refinery. With an expected completion date of May, 2007, the Conoco Museum will feature artifacts, photographs and other historical items related to the petroleum industry and its culture in northern Oklahoma. A sister museum -- Phillips Petroleum Company Museum -- will also be opened in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

“These museums reaffirm our Oklahoma roots,” said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer, who made the announcement at a press conference accompanied by Governor Brad Henry. “Together, they will capture the rich heritage of the company in the state and the can-do attitude and pioneering spirit of the people who helped build the foundation for what is now ConocoPhillips. These facilities will be gifts to the people of Oklahoma, visitors to the state and our employee and retiree populations around the world."

The Ponca City Conoco Museum will be funded by a private foundation. ConocoPhillips plans to allow free admission.

Native American History

Historical accounts of white settlers and the oil industry in Ponca City have often overshadowed the area's Native American population and its influences on the culture and history of the city and its environs.

Ponca City is named after the Ponca Tribe, part of which relocated from modern-day Nebraska to northern Oklahoma from 1877 to 1880. Like all of the forced American Indian removals of the 19th century, the Poncas' trek was arduous. A number of Poncas who made the initial journey died from illness and exposure to the elements while following a group of leaders to northern Indian Territory (now northern Oklahoma).

Part of the tribe was displeased with the living conditions on the land where they initially settled, and they were led on a journey toward their traditional home by the legendary civil rights leader Standing Bear in 1879. However, Standing Bear was arrested, and most of the tribal members who left eventually returned to the reservation in Oklahoma. The story of Standing Bear is perhaps best told by the memorial in his name, which stands at the intersection of Highway 60 and South Fourth Street in Ponca City.

The Ponca Tribe, which has kept its headquarters south of Ponca City since 1879, played a major part in developing the Marland Oil Co. and the city proper when Chief White Eagle signed away valuable portions of the tribe's allotted land. In fact, the respected Ponca leader signed over the lease to the land on which E.W. Marland made his fortune in 1910.

In recent years, the Ponca Tribe has made a number of moves to build its infrastructure and improve services for its people. In February 2006, the tribe received a grant of more than $800,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota for debt retirement and economic development.

Pioneer Woman Statue & Museum

Ponca City has the Pioneer Woman Museum and the Pioneer Woman Statue. The statue was erected in 1930 to commemorate women pioneers.

Twelve submissions were made by U.S. and international sculptors, and a finalist selected by popular vote. A museum was added in 1958 with exhibits commemorating Oklahoma women and also pictures of all twelve submissions.

Native American as well as European women are acknowledged for their leadership and stamina creating homes, raising children, and taking care of the daily business of sustaining life.

Links to sites about the statue and history:

Camp McFadden

Camp McFadden is an outdoor recreational area on Kaw Lake with high and low ropes courses, cabins, a lodge with full kitchen, outdoor activities, and RV and tent camping. It is used for team building, reunions, youth and church camps, weddings, and getaways. It began in 1927 as a camp for children and is now a multi-use recreational area. A fund raiser is currently being held selling bricks and stones for a monument on the site.

Points of Interest

Notable Natives

External Links

Cities in Oklahoma | Kay County, Oklahoma

Ponca City, Oklahoma

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Ponca City, Oklahoma".

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