Washington

Formed November 16, 1907 (75^th county)

Washington County (52,452), Bartlesville (37,276)

The Federalist appearance to the 1931 red brick and masonry fits into its downtown location.  It was converted into the courthouse in 1972.  A 1913 courthouse also served after the county was founded on November 16, 1907 and Bartlesville has always been the county seat.  James A. Wetmore is the building designer.  Washington County was formed from the Cherokee Nation as the 75^th county.  This structure is located two blocks south of United States Highway 60 at Johnstone and Fifth.  President George Washington provided his name to the county.  The seat is named for an early settler, Jacob H. Bartles. 

Washington County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Five District Court Judges serve Washington and Nowata counties.  The county is located in the northeast on the Kansas border just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The Caney River crosses the county.  The county center is 6.3 miles South-Southeast of Bartlesville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Kansas and Nowata, Rogers, Tulsa, and Osage counties. 

The area of the county is 417 square miles.  It is 76 out of 77 in the state.  It ranks 14 out of 77 in population in the state.  It has a density of 125.8 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 77 in the state.  Washington County has 81.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 60 crosses east to west from Nowata County into Osage County.  United States Highway 75 transits from Kansas, north, into Tulsa County, south.  A tall, skinny rectangle is the shape of the county.  Bartlesville is slightly north of center but against the western border in the county.  Bartlesville is the county seat and the largest city and extends into Osage County.  It is 71.1% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced BAR-TELS-VIL.  This county is in the Bartlesville Micropolitan Statistical Area.