Editing Quapaw, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
In 1891, Kansas farmer Isaac Bingham moved his family south into Ottawa County, then part of land assigned to the [[Quapaw Nation]]. It became part of the state of Oklahoma in 1907 after admission.  The family founded a community and opened several businesses.  Quapaw Chief John Quapaw donated land for a community school. The Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad established a railroad stop and siding at this site. This established access to markets for hay and agricultural products of the area, attracting more settlers. A post office was opened in the community grocery store in 1897.<ref name=OkHS/>

The community leaders platted "New Town Quapaw" on land to the east that was purchased from Harry Whitebird (Quapaw). This "new" town was incorporated in 1917 as Quapaw. Discovery of [[lead]] and [[zinc]] [[ore]]s in the area resulted in this area being developed as part of the [[Tri-State district|Tri-State mining district]]. As thousands of miners moved into the larger area, a population boom occurred.

[[Image:Route 66 in Quapaw.jpg|thumb|left|[[U.S. Route 66|Historic Route 66]] in Quapaw (2008)]]
The county had a significant population from several federally recognized tribes, such as the Quapaw. The population and economic boom stimulated development of new businesses. The 1920 census for the town listed 1,394 residents. In the 1920s, [[U. S. Route 66]] was developed through Quapaw and was paved through Ottawa County by 1933. This event was celebrated with Quapaw Chief [[Victor Griffin (Quapaw)|Victor Griffin]] laying a zinc tablet in the center of Main Street.<ref name=OkHS/>

As the local mining operations began to decline before World War II, jobs left the region and the population declined to 1,054 by 1940, and to 850 by 1960. The region was left with widespread mine tailings, known as [[chat (mining)|chat]], and extensive environmental toxic hazards.<ref name=OkHS/>