What is there about Broken Arrow?

In the Northeastern part of Oklahoma is Broken Arrow. The majority of it is in Tulsa County, but it spreads into Wagoner County on the west side. It is named for an old Creek community that came on the Trail of Tears from Alabama in the 1830’s.

The Creek tribe founded this area and gave it the original Creek name of Repack, which means broken arrow. In the early 1900’s, lots were sold by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. It was William S. Fears, the company’s secretary, who changed the name to Broken Arrow.

Today, Broken Arrow is Tulsa’s largest suburb. As of 2010, the Census counted almost 99,000residents, making it Oklahoma’s fourth largest city. What started out as an agricultural community, the city has had an important role in the coal industry with several strip coal mines, as well.

In just a few years after the city was founded, the Broken Arrow Ledger, the city newspaper, started. In 1904, the first school was established. The city didn’t see much growth during the early 1900’s. After that, Main Street would become the main commercial area for Broken Arrow. Today, it is more diverse and is home to the state’s third largest amount of manufacturers.