Nowata

History

The first community established at this site was named Metz, named for its first postmaster, Fred Metzner. The name was changed even before the railroad was built in 1889. Nowata served as a train stop for Native Americans from the East being forced to resettle by the United States government. Some controversy exists about the meaning of the town name. Lenape tribesmen who passed through named it "nuwita," meaning "friendly" or "welcome." In the Cherokee language, the town is called ᎠᎹᏗᎧᏂᎬᎬ (A-ma-di-ka-ni-gunh-gunh, roughly), which means, "water is all gone," translating what it sounded like the word meant: No Water. In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (later part of the Missouri Pacific Railway) built a line through Nowata. A post office was established in the town on November 8, 1889. Nowata was incorporated April 17, 1899. By 1900, Nowata had 498 residents. Nowata's peak population was 4,435 in 1920. It became the southern terminus of the Union Electric Railway, which continued to serve the city until 1948. Newspapers included the Nowata Herald and the Nowata Advertiser. The town had 850 telephones by 1930, when the census showed its first population decline, to nearly the 1910 level.

Geography

Nowata is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas state line. A week later, the high temperature was , which is higher. The city falls within USDA plant hardiness zone 7a ().

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  160
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  150
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  142
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  139
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  137
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  136
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  135
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  123

Largest nearby schools

• NOWATA ES
  Elementary · Nowata · 379 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• NOWATA HS
  High · Nowata · 209 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• NOWATA MS
  Middle · Nowata · 163 students · 14.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-12-26
  5 km SSW of Peru, Kansas
• M 2.82 — 2024-03-23
  9 km SE of Foyil, Oklahoma
• M 2.7 — 2016-01-14
  7 km W of Talala, Oklahoma
• M 2.6 — 2015-09-03
  6 km WSW of Vera, Oklahoma
• M 3 — 2014-10-01
  9 km SSW of Galesburg, Kansas