Washington County, Oklahoma

Washington County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, about 47 miles north of Tulsa near
the Kansas line. It had a population of 52,455 at the 2020 census and covers 424 square miles
(1,100 km2), of which 415 square miles are land and 8.8 square miles are water, centred near
36°45′N 95°59′W.

Bartlesville is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 74003. The county holds 2
cities, 4 incorporated towns and several smaller unincorporated communities, and it runs on
Central Time. Washington County has no civil townships — Oklahoma abolished them at
statehood in 1907, the same year this county was organized.

Towns & Villages in Washington County

Washington County has 11 named places on record: 6 incorporated cities and towns, and 5
unincorporated communities with no town government of their own. Several of the unincorporated
names date from the early-1900s oil boom and today mark little more than a rural crossroads or a
former oil-field camp.

ZIP Codes

• 74003 — Bartlesville (the county’s main ZIP)
• 74004 — Bartlesville (a secondary/PO Box ZIP)
• 74005 — Bartlesville (a secondary/PO Box ZIP)
• 74006 — shared by Bartlesville and Dewey
• 74029 — Dewey
• 74022 — Copan
• 74051 — Ochelata
• 74061 — Ramona
• 74082 — Vera

Cotton Valley, Hogshooter, Matoaka, Oglesby and Owen have no ZIP code of their own; mail there
is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Washington County lies in the Eastern Lowlands physiographic region of northeastern Oklahoma,
drained by the Caney River. Of its 424 square miles, 415 are land and 8.8 are water, about 2.1
percent — concentrated in Copan Lake, Silver Lake and Bar-Dew Lake, the county’s main
reservoirs. It is the second-smallest county in Oklahoma by total area, smaller only than Osage
County next door.

Montgomery County and Chautauqua County, both in Kansas, sit directly north across the state
line. Nowata County lies to the east, Rogers County to the southeast, Tulsa County to the south
and Osage County to the west. Montgomery
County, Chautauqua County, Nowata
County, Rogers County, Tulsa County and Osage County all border Washington
County directly.

Demographics

Washington County had a population of 52,455 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville and Dewey are by
far the two largest communities, together holding more than three-quarters of the county’s
residents. Median household income runs $55,216 (2021 ACS), below Oklahoma’s statewide
figure of $62,138 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 126 people per square mile
of land.

Economy & Local Life

Oil built this county. The Nellie Johnstone No. 1, Oklahoma’s first commercial oil well,
was drilled near Bartlesville in 1897, and Frank Phillips founded Phillips Petroleum in
Bartlesville in 1905. Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips still dominate the local economy today,
combining to employ or contract with more than 3,800 people in the area. Bartlesville is also
home to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, about 1,100 students, and a branch campus of Rogers State
University, about 700 students. Price Tower, the only skyscraper Frank Lloyd Wright ever built,
stands in downtown Bartlesville. The county’s biggest annual events are Sunfest, held the
first weekend of June, and the week-long OKM Music festival, also in June, both in Bartlesville.

History

The county’s first settlement, Little Verdigris, was established in 1859 at the
confluence of Butler Creek and the Caney River. Washington County was organized in 1907, at
Oklahoma statehood, and named for President George Washington. The 1897 discovery of oil at the
Nellie Johnstone No. 1 near Bartlesville triggered decades of drilling, and oil fields with names
like Hogshooter, Wann and Canary sprang up across the county in the years that followed —
several of today’s unincorporated place names trace back to that boom. Bartlesville
restricted Black residents from living within city limits after dark in its early decades; that
restriction had been lifted by 1907.

Getting There

No interstate crosses Washington County. US Route 75 runs north–south through the county,
serving Bartlesville, running concurrent with State Highway 10 at Copan, and meeting State Highway
123 at Dewey, before continuing north into Kansas.

• Tulsa — about 47 miles south
• Nowata — about 20 miles east
• Copan — about 14 miles north of Bartlesville
• Dewey — adjoins Bartlesville on its north side

Bartlesville Municipal Airport, one mile northwest of downtown Bartlesville, handles general
aviation only; the airport had scheduled passenger service from 1949 to 1974 but none since.
Tulsa International Airport, about 47 miles south, is the nearest commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Washington County located?
It sits in northeastern Oklahoma on the Kansas border, about 47 miles north of Tulsa, bordered by
Montgomery and Chautauqua counties in Kansas, and Nowata, Rogers, Tulsa and Osage counties in
Oklahoma.

What is the population of Washington County?
52,455 at the 2020 census.

How big is Washington County?
424 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 415 square miles are land — the second-smallest
county in Oklahoma by area.

What is the county seat of Washington County?
Bartlesville, home to Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips, is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Washington County?
Six incorporated places — Bartlesville, Dewey, Copan, Ochelata, Ramona and Vera —
plus five unincorporated communities: Cotton Valley, Hogshooter, Matoaka, Oglesby and Owen.

What ZIP codes does Washington County use?
74003, 74004, 74005 and 74006 for Bartlesville; 74006 and 74029 for Dewey; 74022 for Copan; 74051
for Ochelata; 74061 for Ramona; and 74082 for Vera.

What is Washington County known for?
The Nellie Johnstone No. 1, Oklahoma’s first commercial oil well, drilled near Bartlesville
in 1897, and as the birthplace of Phillips Petroleum, founded there in 1905.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oklahoma.