Oologah is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. Renowned humorist Will Rogers was born on a ranch two miles east of Oologah, although he usually claimed Claremore as his birthplace “because nobody but an Indian can pronounce ‘Oologah.'”
There has been disagreement very nearly the proper spelling for the town name. The approved spelling is now Oologah. It was often spelled Oolagah back statehood, and this spelling appears on some out of date buildings.

In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (later, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, subsequently a portion of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and currently, the Union Pacific Railroad) laid tracks through the area and established a townsite named Oologah, Indian Territory. Oologah was named for Oologah (Dark Cloud), a Cherokee chief. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says that the Oklahoma Federal Writers’ Project claimed the declare translates from the Cherokee as “red horse fish,” while some other sources tell that the publicize means “cloudy weather” or just “clouds.”The herald office was opened May 25, 1891.

Early in the 20th century, the town flourished because of agriculture, coal mining, and oil and gas production. However, these were difficult hit during the Great Depression. The town’s population declined from 324 in 1910 to 236 in 1940. The population had recovered to 299 in 1960. Construction of Oologah dam and lake in 1963, east of town, revitalized the town, which has continued to grow.

In 1963, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the first phase of Oologah Lake.