Nowata, Oklahoma
Nowata (Lenape: Nuwatu, Nuwi ta ) is a city and county seat of Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,731 at the United States Census, 2010, a 6.0 percent decline from 3,971 at the 2000 census.
History
Nowata served as a train stop for Native Americans from the East being resettled by the government. The 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.
Oil and gas were discovered nearby in 1904, stimulating the Nowata economy. Some wells in this field have continued to produce into the twenty-first century.
A Federal court was established in 1904. The building housing the court burned down in 1909, destroying all records and forcing the court to move temporarily to another building. A permanent courthouse was built in 1912. It is the only local property listed on the National Record of Historic Places.