The area that became Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka band of Muscogee (Creek) Native Americans, who established a community known as Lochapoka — meaning "place of turtles" in the Creek language — under the Creek Council Oak Tree at the present-day intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and 18th Street. Tulsa was formally incorporated on January 18, 1898. Most of the modern city remains within the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, with Northwest Tulsa lying in the Osage Nation and North Tulsa within the Cherokee Nation.
For much of the twentieth century, Tulsa held the nickname "Oil Capital of the World" and served as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry. In 1925, Tulsa businessman Cyrus Avery launched the campaign to create U.S. Highway 66 linking Chicago to Los Angeles, earning the city the additional nickname "Birthplace of Route 66." Today the city's economy has diversified into finance, aviation, telecommunications, and technology. Tulsa is regarded as the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, housing two accredited art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture.
Tulsa's most significant recurring motorsport event is the Chili Bowl Nationals, an indoor midget car race held annually at the Tulsa Expo Center. The event takes its name from the Chili Bowl food company founded by Bob Berryhill, which served as its original sponsor. Over time the race grew into one of the premier dirt oval events in North American grassroots motorsport, accommodating more than two hundred race rigs, bleachers for thousands of spectators, and an ever-growing trade show. The indoor format and concentration of elite open-wheel midget car talent make the Chili Bowl one of the most anticipated events on the short-track racing calendar each January.
Horse racing is also part of Tulsa's sporting landscape, with Fair Meadows Race Track operating within the city and Will Rogers Downs located in nearby Claremore.
Tulsa supports a broad array of sports at professional and collegiate levels. The city is home to two NCAA Division I institutions: the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles. The University of Tulsa's football team has played in sixteen bowl games, including the Sugar Bowl twice. The principal professional sports venue is the 19,199-seat BOK Center, designed by architect César Pelli and opened in August 2008; as of 2022 it serves as home to the Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team. The city's Class AA Texas League baseball franchise, the Tulsa Drillers — whose alumni include Sammy Sosa, Matt Holliday, and Iván Rodríguez — plays at ONEOK Field in the Greenwood neighborhood downtown.
The annual Tulsa Tough cycling festival, held each June, brings professional-level criterium racing through the city's streets, drawing large crowds to its Crybaby Hill section in the Riverview District.
Among the most significant events in Tulsa's past is the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 to June 1, 1921. Mobs attacked and burned the Greenwood District, then known as "Black Wall Street," one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States. An official report recorded 23 Black and 16 White citizens killed, though other estimates place the death toll at up to 300; more than 800 people were admitted to local hospitals, and an estimated 1,000 Black residents were left homeless as 35 city blocks comprising 1,256 residences were destroyed. Property damage was estimated at $1.8 million at the time, equivalent to over $30 million in 2024 dollars. The Greenwood Cultural Center today preserves artifacts and photography documenting the neighborhood's history before and after the massacre.
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