Ottawa County, located in the northeastern corner of the State of Oklahoma, is one of the most important counties of the state, both from an agricultural and mineral standpoint, and its history is unique and interesting. It has been the home of members of a greater number of Indian tribes than any other county in the United States, and strange to say, it has borne the reputation of having been one of the most peaceful, law-abiding communities, inhabited anywhere by the Indian race.
Many years ago, the United States Government, by treaties with the Cherokee Nation, obtained permission to locate the remnants of various small Indian tribes in this corner of former Indian Territory, now the State of Oklahoma, granting to each a small reservation of land. The Cherokees seem to have been more generous toward the weaker tribes than most any other Indians and the United States authorities availed themselves of this generosity by locating various small bands of Indians who seemed to be unable to find peaceful homes elsewhere.
Source: Benedict, John D. Muskogee and northeastern Oklahoma, including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa. 3 v. illus., ports., facsims. 28 cm. Chicago, S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1922.