Mounds, Oklahoma facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mounds, Oklahoma
Town
Location within Creek County, and the state of Oklahoma
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Creek
Area
• Total	2.30 sq mi (5.95 km2)
• Land	2.25 sq mi (5.82 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation	758 ft (231 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	932
• Density	414.96/sq mi (160.22/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	74047
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code	40-49550
GNIS feature ID	2413017

Mounds is a small town located in Creek County, Oklahoma, in the United States. It's just south of a bigger city called Tulsa. In 2020, about 932 people lived in Mounds.

Discovering the History of Mounds

The story of Mounds began in 1895. A post office was set up for the community. It was first called "Posey" after a Creek poet named Alexander Posey. He lived in a town called Eufaula, Oklahoma.

In 1898, the town moved about 5 miles (8 km) southwest. It was renamed "Mounds" because of two hills nearby. By 1901, a railway called the St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway built tracks through Mounds. This made the town an important place for shipping cattle. Mounds officially became a city that same year.

Oil Boom and Changes

A big change happened in 1905 when oil was found in the Glenn Pool field. Mounds quickly became a place for shipping crude oil instead of cattle.

In its early days, Mounds was on a streetcar line. This line connected it to Tulsa through other towns like Sapulpa and Glenpool.

Population Shifts and Modern Life

When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Mounds had 675 people. This number grew to 701 by 1910. The oil boom made the population jump to 1,078 in 1920.

However, the oil boom ended in the 1920s. The population went down to 701 by 1930. The railway then mainly shipped grain and cattle again. The number of people living in Mounds reached its lowest point in 1950, with only 560 residents. Since then, the population has slowly grown.

Today, Mounds is mostly a commuter town. This means that most people who live there travel to work in bigger nearby cities. About 92% of working residents commute to places like Sapulpa and Tulsa.

Exploring the Geography of Mounds

Mounds is located in the eastern part of Creek County. U.S. Route 75A runs right through the middle of the town. This road goes north about 5 miles (8 km) to Kiefer. It also goes south about 9 miles (14 km) to Beggs.

Sapulpa, which is the main city of Creek County, is about 10 miles (16 km) north on U.S. 75A. If you take U.S. Route 75, which is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Mounds, you can reach downtown Tulsa. Tulsa is about 22 miles (35 km) north of Mounds.

Land and Water Area

The town of Mounds covers a total area of about 2.3 square miles (5.8 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 2.2 square miles (5.7 square kilometers), is land. A smaller part, about 0.05 square miles (0.1 square kilometers), is water. This means about 2.20% of the town's area is water.

Understanding Mounds' Population

In the year 2000, a census counted 1,153 people living in Mounds. These people lived in 449 households, and 312 of these were families. The town had about 987 people per square mile (381 people per square kilometer). There were also 500 housing units, which means homes or apartments, in the town.

Diversity in Mounds

The people in Mounds come from different backgrounds. In 2000, about 76% of the people were White. About 1.2% were African American, and 15.6% were Native American. A small number were Asian or from other races. About 5.8% of the people were from two or more races. Also, about 1.8% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Households and Families

Out of the 449 households, about 34.1% had children under 18 living with them. More than half, 50.6%, were married couples living together. About 12.2% had a female head of the household with no husband present. The average household had 2.57 people, and the average family had 3.10 people.

Age and Income

The population in Mounds was spread out by age. About 29.3% were under 18 years old. About 9.1% were between 18 and 24. The median age, meaning the middle age of all residents, was 35 years old. For every 100 females, there were about 93.5 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in Mounds was $27,050 per year. For families, the median income was $35,417 per year. The average income per person in the town was $12,917. About 15.7% of the population lived below the poverty line, meaning they had very low incomes. This included 17.5% of those under 18 and 22.3% of those 65 or older.

Education in Mounds

The public school district in Mounds serves about 300 students. For every 14.5 students, there is one teacher. The district has two schools and is located in a rural area. Mounds spends about $2,854 per student on teaching costs.

Mounds is also home to the ACT Observatory. This is a small place for looking at stars and planets. It is run by the Astronomy Club of Tulsa.

Understanding "Liberty Mounds"

You might see signs on US Route 75 that point to "Liberty Mounds." However, there is no town actually called Liberty Mounds. The signs point to Mounds on one side of the highway and "Liberty Mounds" on the other.

The town of Liberty, Oklahoma was created in 1978. A family named Spradling started it to stop other towns, like Mounds, from taking over that area. The name "Liberty" came from the nearby Liberty School District. A former school leader called it "Liberty Mounds" to tell it apart from another Liberty school district in a different county. So, the sign refers to the school district, even though both the town and the school district are simply named Liberty.

Notable People from Mounds

• Thomas Gilcrease (1890-1962): He was an oilman and a generous person who started the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. He lived in Mounds when he was a boy.
• George E. R. Kinnear II (1928–2015): He was a very high-ranking admiral in the United States Navy.
• Reuben Wilson (born 1935): He is a jazz musician who plays the organ.

See also

In Spanish: Mounds (Oklahoma) para niños