Barnsdall

History

The community was founded in 1905 and originally named Bigheart, for the Osage Chief James Bigheart. It was initially a 160-acre site along the Midland Valley Railroad in March 1905. The railroad opened Bigheart Station in September 1905 and the Bigheart Post Office opened in January 1906. The community was exempted from the Osage allotment, so lots could be sold to anyone. Lots were auctioned in May 1906. The first newspaper, the Bigheart Star, first appeared in 1906. Joshua Cosden built the Southwest Refining Company oil refinery in 1910. He sold it to Stone and Webster of Boston, Massachusetts in 1917. The Barnsdall Oil Company had discovered the nearby Bigheart (later Barnsdall) oilfield in 1916. The Barnsdall Oil Company, bought the refinery in 1921. The community was renamed Barnsdall on January 1, 1922, in honor of Theodore N. Barnsdall. Barnsdall Refining Company renamed itself Bareco Oil Company in 1940. It ceased refining oil in 1946 and began producing microcrystalline waxes that year. Petrolite Corporation (later part of Baker Hughes) bought Bareco and continued to operate the plant. and, NuCera was sold in September 2022 to Chase Corporation. NuCera continued as operator until July 2024, when tornado damage lead to announcement of the plant's phased shutdown. At least some of the route south of Barnsdall has been converted into a rail trail. On the evening of April 1, 2024, an EF1 tornado struck Barnsdall, damaging 35 homes, but no injuries were reported. On the evening of May 6, 2024, a large and destructive EF4 tornado hit the city, the second tornado in the city within five weeks. Peak wind speeds were estimated at . Two fatalities occurred in Barnsdall as a result of the tornado, and several structures were completely destroyed. Barnsdall…

Geography

Barnsdall is located southeast of Pawhuska, the Osage County seat, and northwest of Tulsa. | date = August 2010 | source = | width = auto }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• BARNSDALL ES
  Elementary · Barnsdall · 207 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• BARNSDALL HS
  High · Barnsdall · 133 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• WYNONA ES
  Elementary · Wynona · 103 students · 20.6:1 ratio
• AVANT PUBLIC SCHOOL
  Elementary · Avant · 73 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• WYNONA HS
  High · Wynona · 22 students · 22:1 ratio