Location:100 East 3rd Street, Sand Springs, OK 74063-7639 

(918)245-8777

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropistCharles Page. He envisioned Sand Springs as a haven for orphans and widows. He helped found and develop Sand Springs as a model city that included all components of a total community. Today, Sand Springs is ripe with growth and development due to its strategic location near downtown Tulsa and proximity to cultural and recreational opportunities. Numerous private and governmental projects are currently underway to morph Sand Springs from a historically rich bedroom community into a progressive and complete community.

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Wealthy businessman Charles Page bought 160 acres of land in Tulsa County, Oklahoma in 1908, intending to build a home for orphaned children. The initial tent housing seven children was soon replaced by a frame building housing fifty children. He also decided to form a community called Sand Springs on land west of the children's home, offering free land to anyone who wished to move there and a $20,000 bonus to companies that would relocate there. In 1911, Page created the Sand Springs Railway, an interurban connecting Sand Springs to Tulsa. The townsite was laid out in 1911. Sand Springs was incorporated as a city in 1912, with a population of 400.

Some of the earliest manufacturing industries were: Kerr Glass Manufacturing; Commander Mills, Kerr, Hubbard and Kelley Lamp and Chimney; Southwest Box Company and Sinclair Prairie Refining Company. Medical and social welfare institutions other than the Sand Springs Home included the Oakwood Sanitorium for nervous and mental diseases, Poole Hospital, the Salvation Army Maternity Home, and the Sand Springs School for the Deaf. Sand Springs became one center of glass production in Oklahoma. Kerr Glass Manufacturing moved to Sand Springs from Chicago in 1913. It and the Alexander H. Kerr company, which made fruit jars, were the only glass companies remaining in business as recently as 1955.

 According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.0 square miles (54.3 km²), of which, 18.7 square miles (48.4 km²) of it is land and 2.3 square miles (5.9 km²) of it (10.84%) is water.

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,451 people, 6,564 households, and 4,870 families residing in the city. The population density was 934.2 people per square mile (360.7/km²). There were 6,979 housing units at an average density of 373.6 per square mile (144.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.85% White, 1.85% African American, 7.13% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 4.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.06% of the population.

There were 6,564 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,380, and the median income for a family was $47,258. Males had a median income of $38,120 versus $25,373 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,193. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

The economy of Sand Springs is largely focused on promoting small business, with a very active chamber of commerce.

According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, the most significant businesses in 2000 were: Webco Industries, Sheffield Steel Corporation, Rader Diagnostic Center, Smith-Fibercast, Cust-O-Fab, Piping Companies Incorporated, and Baker Petrolite.

The Sand Springs Public School District is the largest employer in the city. It contains five elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools, and a groundbreaking early childhood program.

There are also four Private Schools in Sand Springs.