BARTLESVILLE, a city in the midst of the oil and gas fields of north-east Oklahoma, U.S.A., on the Caney river, 18m. from the Kansas line; the county seat of Washington county. It is on Federal highway 75, is served by the Santa Fe and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railways, and has a commercial airport. The city was incorporated in 1897. In 190o the population was 698; in 192o, 14,417, of whom 92% were native white; and in 193o it was 14,763.
About 100 oil and gas companies have offices in the city, where the first oil-well, drilled in 1897, is still producing. There are three large zinc and lead smelters. An experiment station of the U.S. bureau of mines is here, with a staff of 5o technicians occu pied exclusively with problems in oil and gas. The city is well laid out, with streets 1 oof t. wide as the rule. It has four parks, a num ber of substantial and handsome public and business buildings, including a fine high school and junior college, and a civic centre with a large auditorium.