September 16, 1893
As Q County
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History
Following the Civil War, under the terms of the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866, the Cherokee agreed to allow other American Indians to be settled in the eastern portion of the Outlet. Consequently, between 1873 and 1875 the Pawnee were relocated from Nebraska to a reservation there. The Pawnee Agency was established near the present town of Pawnee in the summer 1875. After the Civil War ended, cattle outfits such as the Berry brothers, Bennett and Dunham, and the McClelland Cattle Company leased land from the Cherokee in the Outlet in the vicinity of the future Pawnee County.
According to the Pawnee Agreement, dated October 31, 1891, the Pawnee agreed to take allotments in severalty. After they received them, the area was opened to non-Indian settlers on September 16, 1893, during the Cherokee Outlet Opening. Prior to the land opening the county was organized as Q County and Townsite Number Thirteen (later the town of Pawnee) was designated as the county seat. Following the opening the communities of Blackburn, Cleveland, Jennings, Maramec, and Terlton soon developed.
When it came time to name the county, the names Queen (for Q County), Platte, and Pawnee were suggested. On November 6, 1894, an election was held to choose county officials. The name Platte was listed on the Democratic ballot, and Pawnee on the Republican. Because the Republicans won, Pawnee was chosen for the county name.
Links
Pawnee County E-mail List on Rootsweb
Pawnee County Query Board on Rootsweb
Pawnee County Query Board on Genforum
Pawnee County Cemetery Listing on Interment.net
Pawnee County Cemetery Listing on OKcemeteries.net
Pawnee County Cemetery Listings on Find A Grave
Free Records Search at Familysearch Org
Pawnee Nation
Pawnee County Courthouse
500 Harrison St.
Pawnee, OK 74058
County Clerk
Phone (918)762-2732
Court Clerk
Phone (918)762-2547
Adjacent Counties
Osage County | Tulsa County | Creek County | Payne County | Noble County