Webbers Falls, Oklahoma
| Webbers Falls, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Location of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma |
|
| Coordinates: 35°30′36″N 95°8′48″W / 35.51000°N 95.14667°WCoordinates: 35°30′36″N 95°8′48″W / 35.51000°N 95.14667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Muskogee |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.9 sq mi (10.1 km2) |
| • Land | 3.9 sq mi (10.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 479 ft (146 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 616 |
| • Density | 186.6/sq mi (72.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 74470 |
| Area code(s) | 539/918 |
| FIPS code | 40-79650 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1099460 |
Webbers Falls is a town in southeastern Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 616 at the 2010 census, a decline of 14.9 percent from 724 at the 2000 census.
The name comes from a 7-foot falls in the Arkansas River named in honor of Walter Webber, a Cherokee chief who established a trading post here before 1818. He was a leader among the Western Cherokee, also called "Old Settlers." They had a treaty with the United States government by 1828, which helped settle some conflicts with the Osage people, who had been forced to give up land to the Cherokee.
In the late 1830s and 1840, the mass of thousands of Cherokee from the Southeast were forcibly moved into Indian Territory as a result of the US policy of Indian Removal.
Webber had settled here with some of the first Cherokee to go to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River; it was then considered part of Arkansas Territory. He opened a trading post and a portage service, as well as building a house. Of mixed-race Cherokee-European descent, Webber was married to a full-blood Cherokee. They had adopted many American ways and outfitted their house in European-American style. When English-speaking visitors came, one of their African-American slaves and domestic servants would translate. Webber also built a salt works, leasing the land for the latter from the Cherokee government, which held it communally as a tribe. In the early years when Webber was in the territory, there was considerable conflict with the Osage people, who were forced by the United States government to give up some of their territory to the Cherokee, in a Treaty of 1828.
Webber was among the early leaders of the Cherokee in this area, one of their representatives when meeting with US agents and going to Washington, DC for meetings. The Western Cherokee resisted sharing their territory with immigrants to be resettled from the Southeast, as the US government proposed in 1834. They finally agreed that year, in exchange for an increased amount of land and annuities.
In the late 1830s and 1840, the mass of thousands of Cherokee from the Southeast were forcibly moved into Indian Territory as a result of the US policy of Indian Removal.
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