House, Building, & Neighborhood Histories In Tulsa (2024)

Tulsa County Clerk

The Tulsa County Clerk is the recorder and custodian of land records and other real estate documents in the county.

Land records are freely accessible in the Tulsa County Clerk's office. In the office, there are public access computers. On the public access computer desktops, there are links to the County Clerk Track Index folder, the Tulsa, OK Recorder database, and the Digital Reel database. The County Clerk Track Index folder is organized by subdivision. Here, you will find information on when a subdivision was platted and book and page and document numbers that you can use to find records in the other two databases.In the Tulsa, OK Recorder database, you can find content dating back to 1928.You can use the property's legal description to find post 1987 records. You can use book and page numbers to find pre 1987 records. Use the Digital Reel database for pre 1928 records.

You can print from the public access computers for $1per page.

The Tulsa County Clerk has placed the Historical Unplatted Tract Index, the Historical Platted Tract Index, Tulsa County Plats, and the Historical Grantor/Grantor Deed Indexonline.

Vertical Files

One of the unique resources in theResearch Center's OklahomaRoom is the extensive vertical file collection.Vertical files contain newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, reports, and ephemera for businesses, organizations, homes, buildings, events, and people in the area.

Newspaper articles, covering topics of local and regional interest, were selectively chosen from Tulsa’s major metropolitan dailies of the twentieth century and deposited in subject-based vertical files. This is the only major index inTulsa forthe Tulsa Tribune and for the Tulsa World before 1989. For more information on newspaper and periodical articles, please see ourguide.

Vertical file titles can be searched in the online catalog. To limit your search to the vertical files in the new catalog, useadvanced search. In the "use the form below to construct your query" section, use your keyword and the terms "vertical file." To limit your search to the vertical files in the old (legacy) catalog, use theadvanced search. Enter your keyword in the "anywhere" field, and choose "vertical file" from the "material type" drop-down box.

Vertical file titles that might help with your neighborhood research include:

Neighborhoods

Parks

Schools

Churches

Local Publications Index

TheLocal Publications Indexprovides a searchable online index to older Tulsa area publications housed at the Central Library. These publications include: The American Indian, Gusher, Magazine Tulsa, Tulsa Home & Garden, and Tulsa School Review. The documents in the index are not available online. You may access them by visiting the Research Center at Central Library, emailing us at askus@tulsalibrary.org, or calling 918-549-7323.

Depending on the neighborhood, you may find articles in the local publications index.

Bookshelf

Tulsa Historic Preservation Resource Document (1997)

Tulsa Historic Preservation Plan Report (1980)

Maps & Atlases

Atlas of Tulsa, Oklahoma (1987)

Available in the Oklahoma Room on the 3rd floor of Central Library

Atlas of Tulsa, Oklahoma (1970)

Available in the Oklahoma Room on the 3rd floor of Central Library

Atlas of Tulsa, Oklahoma (1937)

Available in the Oklahoma Room on the 3rd floor of Central Library

Cherokee Nation Township Plat Maps

236 Cherokee Nation township plat maps that include townships 9 north through 29 north have been digitized by the Oklahoma Historical Society. An interesting characteristic of these maps is the meticulous detail with which the ownership of allotments is shown. Each map contains the names, statuses, and allotment numbers of the individual owners. The maps were probably printed after statehood in 1907, by the Indian Territory Map Company in Muskogee, but the information comes from the Dawes Commission which began its work in 1893. Search the archives catalog using the phrase "MAP OF CHEROKEE NATION TOWNSHIP."

Hastain's Township Plats of the Creek Nation (1910)

Hastain's Township Plats of the Creek Nation was published by E. Hastain in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1910. This publication shows the location of allotments given to members of the Creek Nation. It lists the names of allottees, their roll number, and if the allotment was the location of the homestead. Many individuals received allotments in more than one location. The Oklahoma Historical Society has an online database for searching the Creek Nation plats by name and roll number.

Digital Map Collection

Digital images include historical Oklahoma and Tulsa maps representing a fraction of the map collection available in the Research Center on the 3rd floor of Central Library. For more information on the physical map collection, see print map collection link below.

Tulsa Enumeration District Maps 1910,1920,1930,1940 are available online.
When the Bureau of the Census assigned areas for census takers to visit, it divided counties, cities, towns, villages, Indian reservations, and even hospitals and jails into enumeration districts (ED). Each county was assigned a number, and each ED within it was then numbered consecutively. When the census schedule sheets were compiled, they were arranged by state, county, city or township, and thereunder by ED number. You can gather information about areas outside the city with these maps.

Tulsa aerial photographs from the 1950s and 1960s are available online. They are described by township, rangeand section.

Print Map Collection

This guide provides a broader view of the large map collection in the Research Center on the 3rd floor of Central Library and includes other historical Tulsa maps. Some of the maps have been digitized. See digitized map collection above.

Neighborhood Histories

From the Urban Development Department and Tulsa Preservation Commission, these booklets provide a brief history of the neighborhood and information on individual homes.

A Neighborhood History of Tulsa's Historic Brady Heights (1998)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Dawson (1999)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Gillette (1996)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Kendall-Whittier (1999)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Maple Ridge (1996)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Owen Park (1998)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Reservoir Hill (1999)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Riverview (1996)

Early History Of Southwest Tulsa (1996)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Swan Lake (1994)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic Tracy Park (1999)

A Neighborhood History Of Tulsa's Historic White City (1998)