Osage County, Oklahoma

Osage County, Oklahoma
Osage County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location in the U.S.
Founded	1907
Seat	Pawhuska
Largest city	Pawhuska
Area
• Total	2,304 sq mi (5,967 km2)
• Land	2,246 sq mi (5,817 km2)
• Water	58 sq mi (150 km2), 2.5%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	47,987
• Density	21/sq mi (8/km²)
Congressional district	3rd

Osage County is the largest County in the state of Oklahoma by area. Created at 1907 with Oklahoma's statehood the county was named for and is home to the Osage tribe and is contiguous with the Osage Nation Reservation.

By the 19th century, the Osage and other Siouan tribes had been forced to move west from the Ohio Valley across the Mississippi River. The Osage became established as a powerful nation in the areas of present-day Missouri and Arkansas between the Missouri and Red rivers, as well as extending to the west. By 1760, they had increased their range to include the present Osage County. Historically one of the most powerful Great Plains tribes, their numbers were reduced by infectious disease and warfare after encounter with Europeans.

In 1825, they ceded their claim to the land in present-day Oklahoma to the United States government, which included it in a "perpetual outlet to the west given to the Cherokee Nation by the Treaty of New Echota" in 1835. This treaty was to accomplish Cherokee removal to the Indian Territory. During the American Civil War, on December 26, 1861, a band of pro-Union Creek and Seminole fought with a Confederate Army unit at the Battle of Chustenahlah on Bird Creek, near the present town of Skiatook. Generally the Five Civilized Tribes were allied with the Confederacy.

In 1870, the Osage finally prepared for removal from Kansas, after having negotiated payment for their land. They purchased 1.57 million acres (6,400 km²) of their former territory in present-day Oklahoma from the Cherokee. By owning it, they had a stronger position in relation to the US government than did other tribes. The Osage Agency was established in 1872 at Deep Ford, later renamed as Pawhuska. It was designated as the county seat when Oklahoma was admitted as a state. The other chief settlements in the 1870s were Hominy and Fairfax; each of the three was settled by a major Osage band.