Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
City
Location in the state of Oklahoma
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Counties	Tulsa, Wagoner
Founded	1902
Incorporated	1903
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• City Manager	Dave Wooden (Interim)
• Mayor	Mike Lester
Area
• City	45.6 sq mi (118.1 km2)
• Land	45.0 sq mi (116.5 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2)
Elevation	755 ft (230 m)
Population  (2000)
• City	74,859
• Metro	905,755
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	74011-74014
Area code	918
FIPS code	40-09050Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1090512Template:GR
Website	www.brokenarrowok.gov

Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County with an extension into western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. The population was 74,859 at the 2000 census. The 2008 U.S. Census estimates placed the city's population at 92,931.

History

File:Statue downtown Broken Arrow Oklahoma.jpg

Statue of an early 20th century family and their pet rooster, located in Centennial Park on Main Street in downtown (July 2007).

The name comes from an old Creek community in Alabama. When they moved to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, they started a new community named after the original settlement in Alabama. The town's Creek name was Rekackv (pronounced thlee-Kawtch-kuh), meaning broken arrow. This new settlement was located several miles south of present-day downtown Broken Arrow.

Decades later, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway company built a railroad which ran through the area. MKT was granted town site privileges along the route. They sold three of the as-yet-unnamed sites in 1902 to the Arkansas Valley Town Site company. William. S. Fears, secretary of the company, was allowed to choose and name one of the locations. He selected a site about 18 miles southeast of Tulsa and about five miles north of the thlee-Kawtch-kuh settlement and named the new town site Broken Arrow, after the former Indian settlement. The MKT railroad, which ran through the middle of the city, still exists today and is now owned by Union Pacific which currently uses it for freight.

For the first decades of Broken Arrow's history, the town was based mainly on agriculture. The coal industry was also important in BA, as there were several strip coal mines near the city during parts of the early 20th century. The city's newspaper, the Broken Arrow Ledger, started within a couple of years after the city's founding. BA's first school was built in 1904. The city did not grow much during the first half of the 1900s. During this time Broken Arrow's main commercial center was along Main Street. Most of the city's churches were also located on or near Main Street as well.

In the 1960s, Broken Arrow began to grow from a small town into a suburban city. The Broken Arrow Expressway (Highway 51) was constructed in the mid-1960s and connected the city with downtown Tulsa, fueling growth in Broken Arrow. The population swelled from a little above 11,000 in 1970 to more than 50,000 in 1990, and then more than 74,000 by the year 2000. During this time, the city was more of a bedroom community. In recent years, city leaders have pushed for more economic development to help keep more Broken Arrowans shopping and dining in town rather than going to other cities.

Geography and climate

Broken Arrow is located at 36°2′11″N 95°47′1″W (36.036305, -95.783616).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.6 square miles (118.1 km²), of which, 45.0 square miles (116.5 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (1.34%) is water.

Climate

Climate data for Broken Arrow
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source:

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 74,859 people, 26,159 households, and 21,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,664.0 people per square mile (642.4/km²). There were 27,085 housing units at an average density of 602.0/sq mi (232.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.34% White, 3.73% African American, 4.02% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 3.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.56% of the population.

There were 30,154 households out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,118, and the median income for a family was $61,570. Males had a median income of $42,397 versus $27,559 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,238. About 3.4% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Awards

• A 2007 crime survey by CQ Press found Broken Arrow to be the 22nd safest city in the nation and the safest city in Oklahoma.
• Broken Arrow was listed as #66 in Money Magazine's 2006 list of the 100 best places to live.
• Broken Arrow was listed as one of the "Top 25 Affordable Suburbs in the South" by Business Week Magazine in 2007.
• The Pride of Broken Arrow marching band won 1st place in the Bands of America Grand Nationals championship at Indianapolis in 2006.
• Broken Arrow has been listed as a "Tree City USA" for over 6 years in a row.
• Broken Arrow's new logo received an Award of Merit from the Public Relations Society of America - Tulsa Chapter in 2008.
• Broken Arrow's branding campaign received the 2008 Innovations Award from the Oklahoma Municipal League.
• Family Circle Magazine featured Broken Arrow as one of the 10 best towns for families in 2008.

Business and industry

Headquarters of Arkansas Valley State Bank on Main Street in downtown BA. Broken Arrow's landmark grain elevator can be seen in the background (December 2006).

Headquarters of First National Bank and Trust on Main Street in downtown BA (July 2007).

Broken Arrow is home to a wide range of businesses and industries. The city has the 3rd largest concentration of industries in the state.

Some of the city's more notable employers include:

• Blue Bell Creameries
• Skycam
• Windstream Communications

A number of new commercial developments are being built throughout the city, most notably along Highway 51 which runs through the city. A Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World opened several years ago as the anchor to a development that includes hotels, restaurants, shopping, and eventually offices. A new full-service hospital and medical office building are being constructed nearby as an anchor to another large commercial development that will include retail space and two hotels.

In 2007, the city hired Texas-based AngelouEconomics to create a new "world class" economic development plan for the city. The city also created a Broken Arrow Economic Development Corporation to help oversee economic development.

In late 2007, the BA Chamber of Commerce began "Advance Broken Arrow", an economic development campaign aimed at expanding and diversifying the city's economic base.

Downtown redevelopment

Historic building on Main Street after a total restoration (June, 2007).

Historic 1904 Victorian home on Main Street in downtown BA that has been converted into a business. (July, 2007).

In 2005, the city adopted a downtown revitalization master plan to help revive the city's historic downtown area. Some of the plans include a new 3-story museum to house the historical society and genealogical society, a farmer's market and plaza, a new performing arts center, updates and expansions to area parks, the conversion of the historic Central Middle School on Main Street into a professional development center, infrastructure and landscape improvements, and incentives to encourage denser infill, redevelopment, and reuse of the area's historic structures. Numerous buildings and homes have since been renovated, many new shops and offices have moved to downtown, and new townhomes are being built. The new historical museum, farmers market, and performing arts center will all open in 2008.

The city also set strict new design standards in place that all new developments in the downtown area must adhere to. These standards were created to prevent "suburban" development in favor of denser, "urban" development and to ensure that new structures compliment and fit in with the historic buildings in downtown.

Education

Schools

• The Broken Arrow Public Schools district has one senior high school, two intermediate high schools, five middle schools, and fourteen elementary schools.

• Union Public Schools

Colleges and universities

• Northeastern State University (Broken Arrow campus)
• Rhema Bible College

Other schools

• Tulsa Technology Center Broken Arrow Campus

Libraries

The city's two libraries, Broken Arrow Central Library and South Broken Arrow Library, are part of the Tulsa City-County Library System.

Transportation

Public transportation

Tulsa Transit provides public transportation for the city with one bus running Monday through Friday.

Road

• State Highway 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway)
• Creek Turnpike

Media

Newspapers

Broken Arrow has one newspaper, the Broken Arrow Ledger. The paper is published every Wednesday and Saturday.

The Tulsa World, Northeast Oklahoma's major daily, publishes news daily about Broken Arrow in print and online editions.

Television

Cox Cable channel 24 is the Broken Arrow municipal information channel. It displays, among other things, information about the city government, upcoming events, and general information about the city. The channel also features local weather reports.

Internet

Broken Arrow has a website that provides a large amount of information on the city, its government, local amenities, safety, local news, and economic development.

There is also a website for the Chamber of Commerce that contains information about the chamber and economic development in the city.

Notable residents

• Rick McKnight, world-wide evangelist
• P.C. Cast, author and novelist best known for the House of Night series
• Kristin Chenoweth, actress and soprano
• Ernest Childers, Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
• DeDe Dorsey, runningback for the Cincinnati Bengals and Super Bowl winner(Super Bowl XLI)
• Ester Drang, indie rock band
• Phil Farrand, author known for Nitpicker's Guides
• Destiny Frankenstein, pro softball player for New England Riptide and assistant coach at North Dakota State University
• Ralph Blane Hunsecker, famous Hollywood singer, composer, and songwriter
• Bill Hader, actor and current SNL member
• Mike Iles, professional wrestling announcer, commissioner, and manager
• Steve Logan, running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Phenie Lou (Gillett) Ownby, first woman in Oklahoma to become a mayor; served for one term in the 1930s and became nationally famous for her strict policy on water payments.
• Brad Penny, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Kahlen Rondot, America's Next Top Model Cycle 4Runner-up
• Warren Spahn, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher and longtime Broken Arrow resident
• Will Thomas, historical mystery writer, winner of the 2005 Oklahoma Book Award for fiction
• Kathryn Zaremba, Broadway and TV actress.
• Danny Cahill, Winner of The Biggest Loser, Season 8

External links

• City website
• Chamber of Commerce
• Broken Arrow Public Schools
• Broken Arrow Votes Bond Issue
• Broken Arrow Soccer Club
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Broken Arrow