Rekackv: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
You can find this statue of an early 20th century family and their pet rooster, in Centennial Park on Main Street in downtown Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
The city’s name comes from an old Creek community in Alabama. When members of that community moved to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears and founded a new community, they named it after their old settlement in Alabama.
The town’s Creek name was Rekackv (pronounced thlee-Kawtch-kuh), meaning broken arrow. The new settlement was located several miles south of present-day downtown Broken Arrow.
In the 1960s, Broken Arrow began to grow from a small town into a suburban city. The Broken Arrow Expressway (Highway 51) was constructed in the mid-1960s and connected the city with downtown Tulsa, fueling growth in Broken Arrow.
The population swelled from a little above 11,000 in 1970 to more than 50,000 in 1990, and then more than 74,000 by the year 2000. During this time, the city was more of a bedroom community. In recent years, city leaders have pushed for more economic development to help keep more Broken Arrowans shopping and dining in town rather than going to other cities.
Photo: Jordan MacDonald
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