Settled by Seminole, Creek, Citizen Band Pottawatomie, Absentee Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Sac and Fox Indian tribes, this area was opened to white settlement in the Land Run of September 22, 1891 and was designated County "B." the county name was changed by vote in 1892 to honor the Pottawatomie Indians and means "people of the place of fire." Tecumseh, originally the county seat, soon lost to the fast growing community of Shawnee which was also in competition for the state capitol. City fathers even went so far as to build a proposed governor's mansion. The oil and railroad industries were vital to the development of some Pottawatomie County towns and the decline of others, but agriculture has remained a mainstay of the county's economy. History comes to life in annual celebrations such as "Frontier Days" in Tecumseh, the Heritage Fest in Shawnee and the historic Santa Fe depot, built in 1903, still stands in Shawnee along with other early structures. Pottawatomie County is the site of the Shawnee Indian Reservation and has 63 "Ghost Towns." Pottawatomie County has two institutions of higher education. Offices of the Shawnee, Pottawatomie, and Sac and Fox tribes are located in the county. Location: Pottawatomie County is in central Oklahoma. Climate: The average precipitation is 47.1 inches yearly in this area. January's average temperature is 42.0 and July's average is 80.8. County Seat: Shawnee Distances: Shawnee to: Oklahoma City - 37 miles and Tulsa 94 miles Land Area: 793 square miles of level plains
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