Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Services in Ponca City, OK

Ponca City, in southeastern Kay County, was founded on September 16, 1893, during the Cherokee Outlet Opening — the Cherokee Strip land run, the largest land run in United States history.

The town was originally called New Ponca and was renamed Ponca City on October 23, 1913; it had incorporated in 1899 and is named for the Ponca tribe.

Oilman E. W. Marland struck oil in June 1911 on land leased from the Ponca allotment of Willie Cries-for-War, and his Marland Oil Company at one point controlled about 10 percent of the world's oil production.

Marland's company virtually built Ponca City from the ground up, which is why the city has an unusual concentration of Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco buildings from its 1920s oil wealth.

In 1928 Marland completed his E. W. Marland Mansion, a palatial estate dubbed the 'Palace on the Prairie,' which is now a National Historic Landmark open as a museum.

Marland also commissioned sculptor Bryant Baker to create the Pioneer Woman Statue, a 30-foot bronze that stands beside the Pioneer Woman Museum honoring the women who settled Oklahoma.

The Poncan Theatre, built in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, remains a downtown performing-arts landmark.

Ponca City's population nearly tripled during the oil boom, from 2,521 in 1910 to 7,051 in 1920 and 16,136 by 1930, and it peaked at 26,359 in 1990.

Ponca City's population was 24,424 at the 2020 census, down from 25,387 in 2010.

In September 2024 the National Park Service named Ponca City and Kay County jointly a World War II Heritage City.