The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

KELLYVILLE.

The incorporated city of Kellyville is situated eight miles southwest of Sapulpa in east-central Creek County on Historic Route 66. Named for James E. Kelly, who had established a trading post in the area circa 1892, the town has based its economy on cotton and the oil and gas industry. A post office was established November 27, 1893, with Kelly as the first postmaster. In 1898 the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) constructed a line from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City, connecting Kellyville to outside markets.

By 1909 the town's estimated population of three hundred supported a bank, a cotton gin, a feed mill, a livery, and sundry other businesses. Circa 1915 oil and gas were discovered in the area, prompting several producers and a refinery to locate there. In 1919 the bustling community had a movie theater, a hotel, two restaurants, and telephone service provided by the Kellyville Telephone Company. Residents conducted their banking in Sapulpa after the Bank of Kellyville failed on November 29, 1929. In 1930, when the first federal census reported 548 residents in Kellyville, four cotton gins and six oil/gas companies operated. By 1940 the population rose to 647. During the 1940s and 1950s the economy continued to support a cotton gin and several gasoline stations. Kellyville had 528, 501, and 685 residents in 1950, 1960, and 1970, respectively. Population peaked at 984 in 1990.

With 906 residents at the turn of the twenty-first century, Kellyville supported a school system with grades prekindergarten through twelve. Ninety-seven percent of employed residents commuted to jobs, most in the Sapulpa-Tulsa area. The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service located in Kellyville served Creek County. Residents and visitors enjoyed outdoor activities at nearby Heyburn Lake. The 2010 population stood at 1,150. The April 2020 census reported 1,017.

Linda D. Wilson