Editing Oaks, Oklahoma

{{Short description|Town in Oklahoma, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name          = Oaks, Oklahoma
| settlement_type        = [[Town]]
<!-- Images -->
| image_skyline          = 
| image_caption          = 
| image_flag             = 
| image_seal             = 
<!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map            = USA Oklahoma#USA
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location of Oaks, Oklahoma
<!-- Location -->
| coordinates            = {{coord|36|10|11|N|94|51|11|W|region:US-OK|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type       = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name       = United States
| subdivision_type1      = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1      = [[Oklahoma]]
| subdivision_type2      = [[List of counties in Oklahoma|Counties]]
| subdivision_name2      = [[Delaware County, Oklahoma|Delaware]], [[Cherokee County, Oklahoma|Cherokee]]
| established_title      = 
| established_date       = 
| leader_title           = 
| leader_name            = 
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref              = Imperial
| area_total_km2         = 2.22
| elevation_footnotes    = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft           = 1030
<!-- Population -->
| population_footnotes   = 
| population_total       = 267
| population_as_of       = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_density_km2 = 120.25
<!-- General information -->
| timezone               = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset             = -6
| timezone_DST           = CDT
| utc_offset_DST         = -5
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
| postal_code_type       = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code            = 74359
| area_code              = [[area codes 539 and 918|539/918]]
| blank_name             = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info             = 40-53550<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name            = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info            = 2413069<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2413069}}</ref>
| website                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|area_footnotes = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_sq_mi = 0.86
|area_land_km2 = 2.22
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|area_land_sq_mi = 0.86
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
|population_density_sq_mi = 311.55
}}
'''Oaks''' is a town in [[Cherokee County, Oklahoma|Cherokee]] and [[Delaware County, Oklahoma|Delaware]] counties in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Oklahoma]]. The population was 288 at the 2010 census, a decrease from the figure of 412 recorded in 2000.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OA003 Rose Stauber] "Oaks," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed March 26, 2015.</ref> It's a crucial role for survival not only for animals, but to the members of the surrounding communities. Come through and take a tour of the town. Charlie Tucker Park is the community park, it has playground equipment, a track, and a full size basketball court. 

==History==
In 1842, the Moravian Brethren began a new mission which they named New Springplace. It was intended to replace their former mission in Georgia, which they had abandoned after the Cherokees had been forced to emigrate to [[Indian Territory]]. The mission operated in its new location until after the outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1862, a group of Union troops and Pin Indians{{efn| Pin Indians were Cherokees who supported the Union in the American Civil War.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>}} killed James Ward, a Cherokee missionary. They abducted Ward's wife and twin infant sons, though they released them about {{convert|20|miles|km}} from the mission. The mission was abandoned for the remainder of the war.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>

The Moravians resumed their mission work in October 1866. After reassessing their activities, the church abandoned its work among the Cherokees, asking Niels Nielsen, a minister of the Evangelical Danish Lutheran Church, to help the New Springplace congregation. Nielsen took over the facilities in 1902 and dropped the Springplace name.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>

George Miller opened a post office named Oaks on July 18, 1881. A plat for the town was filed on December 10, 1906. All of the land was owned by William Israel, subject to allotment by the Cherokees.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>

Rev. Christian Adolphus Vammen, with his family, succeeded Nielsen in 1924 and two years later began a children's home, Oaks Indian Mission.{{efn|Oaks Indian Mission is a not-for-profit corporation related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), an independent, social-service ministry.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>}} The mission still operates at present.<ref name="EOHC-Oaks"/>

==Geography==
Oaks is located in southern Delaware County.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> A small portion of the town extends south into Cherokee County. It is {{convert|3|mi|0}} southwest of the town of [[Kansas, Oklahoma|Kansas]] and {{convert|24|mi}} north of [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma|Tahlequah]], the Cherokee County seat.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town of Oaks has a total area of {{convert|2.1|sqkm|disp=flip}}, all land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4053550| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Oaks town, Oklahoma| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=February 12, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150212141800/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4053550| archive-date=February 12, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1970= 219
|1980= 591
|1990= 431
|2000= 412
|2010= 288
|2020= 267
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 412 people, 125 households, and 86 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|256.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 137 housing units at an average density of {{convert|85.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 13.59% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 72.57% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.24% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.49% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 13.11% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.43% of the population.

There were 125 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.64.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 38.3% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,268, and the median income for a family was $27,396. Males had a median income of $19,375 versus $15,000 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $8,031. About 18.7% of families and 29.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 39.5% of those under age 18 and 36.8% of those age 65 or over.

==New Springplace Indian Mission==
In 1801, members of the [[Moravian Church]] from Salem in [[North Carolina]] (now [[Winston-Salem]]) decided to begin a mission to the [[Cherokee]] people who were then living in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Tennessee]]. As a result, they set up Springplace Mission in [[Springplace, Georgia]]. They continued the mission to the Cherokees there until the Cherokees signed the [[Treaty of New Echota]] with the federal government. This forced the Cherokees and the other four Civilized Tribes (the [[Chickasaw]]s, [[Choctaw]]s, [[Muscogee|Creeks]] and [[Seminole]]s) to give up their homelands in the [[southeastern United States]] and move to [[Indian Territory]], now Oklahoma. Springplace Mission was forced to close its doors and move with the Cherokees to northeastern Indian Territory. Upon arrival in Indian Territory, the Moravians selected a spot north of [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma|Tahlequah]], the new Cherokee Nation capital, to found New Springplace Indian Mission, near current-day Oaks.

The area selected was a beautiful one with plentiful [[oak]] trees (which is probably where Oaks got its name from) and a spring creek (today called Spring Creek), and the site was on the military road from [[Fort Gibson, Oklahoma|Fort Gibson]], Indian Territory, to [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. The [[American Civil War|Civil War]] temporarily closed the mission, but work resumed until 1902, when [[Denmark|Danish]] [[Lutheran]]s took over. Also in 1902, Oaks-Mission School was formed to accommodate the education for the Indian children staying in what became the Oaks Indian Mission. Later, a nearby school consolidated with Oaks, and the school became Oaks-Mission Public School. In 1980, the name of the mission was changed to Oaks Indian Center, and "mission" was dropped from Oaks' school name until the 1990s, when "mission" was re-instated. In 2004, the name of the Oaks Indian Center was restored to Oaks Indian Mission.

Currently, the Oaks Indian Mission continues to house and mission to Indian children, just like it did in the early days as Springplace and New Springplace.

==Education==
All of Oaks is in the [[Oaks-Mission Public Schools]]<!--UNI 22410--> school district.<ref name=DelawareCoSDMap2020>{{cite map|author=Geography Division|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st40_ok/schooldistrict_maps/c40041_delaware/DC20SD_C40041.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Delaware County, OK|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2025-04-04}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st40_ok/schooldistrict_maps/c40041_delaware/DC20SD_C40041_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref><ref>{{cite map|author=Geography Division|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st40_ok/schooldistrict_maps/c40021_cherokee/DC20SD_C40021.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st40_ok/schooldistrict_maps/c40021_cherokee/DC20SD_C40021.pdf |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cherokee County, OK|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|page=3 (PDF p. 4/17)|date=December 22, 2020|accessdate=2025-04-04}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st40_ok/schooldistrict_maps/c40021_cherokee/DC20SD_C40021_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
<references />

{{Cherokee County, Oklahoma}}
{{Delaware County, Oklahoma}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Cherokee County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Towns in Delaware County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:History of the America (North) Province of the Moravian Church]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1881]]
[[Category:Cherokee towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:1881 establishments in Indian Territory]]