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Claremore
got its beginnings when Chief Glahmo led his tribe of Osage
Indians
from
Missouri in 1802. He soon established a fur trading post
along the Verdigris River. The trading post sat atop a 25 acre
mound which came to be known as Clermont, a
French word meaning "clear mountain."
Over time, traders and
Indians alike began to refer to the Chief as "Chief Clermont.”
When the area
became part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it was designated as
Indian Territory. Before long, the
Cherokee tribe was forced
from their eastern homes along the infamous "Trail of Tears” and was
given title to the land, including Clermont Mound. The Osage
Indians were removed to a reservation, which would later be called
Osage County.
A settlement
made up primarily of
Cherokee
Indians was established
on Clermont Mound beginning with a general store, a blacksmith shop
and a school. In 1874 the post office was established with the
intention of naming the town after Chief Clermont. However, due
to a clerical error, the name was listed as
Claremore, and so it
was.
The
Cherokees, adapting to the
"white mens” ways prospered, organized constitutional governments,
published newspapers, and established an extensive educational system. In 1889, when the U.S. Government began to open up unassigned lands in
Indian
Territory to the white men, they flooded the territory and soon
took control of
Claremore. By
the turn of the century,
Claremore was larger
than Tulsa.
In 1903, a test
oil well was drilled in
Claremore, but instead
of finding oil, the drillers discovered a large flow of artesian
mineral water. Before long radium bath houses became the rage in
Claremore.
In 1907, Rogers County was created
from the
Cherokee Nation and was named
for Clement V. Rogers, the father of Will Rogers, and a member of the
Constitutional Convention.
When
Route 66
came through the city, it was already well established, and quickly
built motor courts, service stations and restaurants along the highway
to service the many travelers of the road.
Claremore is best
known as the hometown of the
Oklahoma’s favorite son, Will
Rogers. Rogers was born nearby in a rough log cabin "halfway between
Claremore and Oologah
on November 4, 1879. He rose from a vaudeville career as a sideshow
rope‑tricks artist to become one of the most popular humorists in
America.
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