Kaw City

History

In 1902, the original Kaw City was founded, prior to Oklahoma statehood, as a farming community in the fertile oxbow bend of the Arkansas River. Kaw City was across the river from the Kaw Indian reservation and the Kaw Agency. By statehood in 1907, it had 486 inhabitants. Although the original town site is now inundated by the waters of Kaw Lake, the old town was quite a busy place. It became a booming oil town in 1919, when 'black gold' was discovered in nearby Kay County and the present Osage Nation reservation. The population jumped from 627 in 1920 to 1,001 in 1930. Many buildings in Kaw City, including the old Santa Fe Railroad Depot which is now the Kaw City Museum, were moved to the town's present location, on high ground near the lake. The Santa Fe Railroad Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The depot is one of only two listed structures that have been moved from their original locations elsewhere in Oklahoma, the other being Will Rogers Homestead near Claremore, which was also moved to make way for a lake. When the water in the lake is exceptionally low, some of the foundations of the old structures can still be seen just above the water. The Kaw City Cemetery (all headstones and the majority of the caskets) were also moved and given a separate section within Ponca City's IOOF cemetery, west of Conoco just south of Highway 60. The Kaw Indian cemetery located across the Arkansas river in Washunga was moved to Newkirk, Oklahoma.

Geography

Kaw City is located on a peninsula extending into the Kaw Lake impoundment of the Arkansas River. Washunga lies to the north across the lake. Oklahoma State Highway 11 passes through the community. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (51.26%) is water.

Race & ethnicity