50 years ago today, the first barge arrived at Tulsa’s Port of Catoosa.
Today, they celebrated by burying a time capsule at the port, filled with a variety of items like newspapers and port memorabilia, that will be opened 50 years from today.
The port, along with the corresponding navigation channel, is a major employer and a major economic tool for northeast Oklahoma, because it allows barges to transport cargo all the way between Tulsa and the Gulf of Mexico, essentially making Tulsa a seaport.
Port Authority Chairman, and former Tulsa mayor, Dewey Bartlett was talking about it recently to some out-of-town business people.
Even after all this time, it’s a well-kept secret outside the area.
“They had no clue that we had a port. They thought I was kidding, and I said no, this is the real deal,” Bartlett said.
Some Tulsa trivia: President Nixon made a stop in Catoosa to dedicate the port, back in 1971.
Bartlett says the average barge can carry the equivalent of roughly 60 semi-truck loads of cargo, making the port a more cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation option.
That first barge that arrived 50 years ago was carrying a load of newsprint that was used by the Tulsa World and the now-discontinued Tulsa Tribune.