Berryhill, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Berryhill is a small community in Tulsa County, Oklahoma
, west of Tulsa, Oklahoma
, and about four square miles (10 km²) in area. It is located south of the Arkansas River
and north of W. 41st St. S., and between S. 71st W. Ave. and S. 47th W. Ave.
Berryhill has nine or ten churches, a store, a business
or two, several creeks
, and many hills. The creeks tend to flow into Berryhill Creek before emptying into the Arkansas River
near the railroad tracks off W. 21st St. near S. 57th W. Ave., in an area which will soon become part of the Gilcrease Expressway
. Most of the homes directly east of S. 57th W. Ave and west of S. 55th W. Ave. have already been demolished and the first phase, the Gilcrease Expressway Extension, has been finished for several years.
The most important (for residents) and recognizable hill in the valley is Victory Hill, located just east and towering over the Berryhill Football Field. This hill is said to have some significance to the earliest inhabitants of Berryhill. Other hills have equal cultural significance to those from Berryhill. Cowbell Hill has been the scene of repeated fatal car accidents for travellers on S. 49th W. Ave.
The most famous hill in Berryhill is Chandler Park. Located in Berryhill and next to Chandler Park was a Superfund clean-up site. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
set up monitors to record exposure atop school buildings at Berryhill. The old refinery and the trash-to-energy plant between downtown Tulsa
and Berryhill contribute as sources of pollution
, although improved technologies promise less destruction to the environment
of Berryhill than in the past.
named Ryan Berryhill.
The old, original parts of Berryhill, although containing some affluent members, were mainly working class
, blue-collar
families with high hopes for their children.
Both economic classes were attracted by the comparatively rural culture of Berryhill as opposed to the urbanization
going on in Tulsa, as well as the fact that there was an abundance of manufacturing
jobs in nearby West Tulsa.
Berryhill's rural
culture is best described as the 1950s. This quality of Berryhill insulates one from the more stark reality of the modern world. Serious violent crime
is very rare, like in many other small towns. The rural ethnic of the Ozarks and Boomer/Sooner
spirit predominates the cultural orientation for most residents. Many have a great deal of pride in Native American
heritage and culture as well.
Berryhill was not able to generate enough mail
to establish a post office
, and certain laws governing the geography of townships
in Oklahoma
prevent the community from ever becoming a town
. This meant that the independent school district became the focus of the community.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, echoing cultural changes across the country, a marginalized drug culture grew among some of the families in Berryhill. Drinking
was long a normal part of the local culture, usually reserved for the men who would slip over to the bars on Southwest Boulevard. Other drugs
, especially marijuana
, gained acceptance, especially with rebellious youth who wanted to strike out against the rigid class system at Berryhill.
In the 1980s, drug use seemed to leap across the traditional class
structure. Parents desperate to save troubled youths transfer their student to Berryhill Schools, hoping the rural atmosphere would help. In fact, the new students from the city served to introduce new ideas of what was cool to the social elite, including rap music, trendy apparel, and use.
In 1982, the city of Tulsa proposed to extend its city limits to surround Berryhill. However, vigorous opposition by Berryhill residents and some Tulsa officials (e.g., Police Chief Harry Stege and City Engineer Harold Miller) resulted in leaving Berryhill outside the Tulsa line.
system used by most of the residents of Berryhill. Also, many parents sought the more-individualized attention to students the Berryhill school district offered.
Eventually, the increase of well-to-do families on the hills over S. 65th W. Ave. led to other developments in Berryhill. Recent developments include an expansion of W. 41st St. into four lanes between S. 57th W. Ave. to SH-97 in Prattville, Oklahoma
(Sand Springs), and construction of several new commercial buildings including a Tulsa Community College
campus, National Guard facility, a bank
, and a carwash.
Tulsa has started an initiative
to annex Berryhill into Tulsa city limits
before current laws governing annexation
change which will make it more difficult for Tulsa to do in the future.
. Classes are offered for students in Pre-Kindergarten
, Kindergarten
, elementary school
, middle school
and high school
. Student population is nearly 1,150 as of 2004.
Berryhill High School serves grades 9-12. Behind the high school is the library. South of the high school is Berryhill Junior High School. Next to the junior high is the C.C. Ogilvie Fieldhouse which features the basketball court
for the high school, and the concession
where Berryhill High School students have the option of having lunch. Behind the junior high building and the fieldhouse is a building for the 16 time State and Grand Championship Band
class, The Brigade. South of the fieldhouse is the wrestling
room. An additional athletics facility has been constructed on S. 65th W. Ave. across the street from Berryhill Fire Department's fire station.
The elementary grades are split between Berryhill North Elementary and Berryhill South Elementary.
community. On S. 57th W. Ave. is 1st Pentecostal Church of Tulsa, a member of the United Pentecostal Church International, pastored by Rev. Don Martin.
Many of the churches in Berryhill are Baptist
. Berryhill Baptist is on W. 41st St. View Acres Baptist church is the voting
location for Oklahoma State District 64 and is located on S. 65th W. Ave.. The New Home Freewill Baptist church pastored by Rev. Roy Dale Smith is located across from the South Elementary.
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 603,403. Its county seat is Tulsa.-History of Tulsa County:The history of Tulsa County greatly overlaps the history of the city of Tulsa...
, west of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, and about four square miles (10 km²) in area. It is located south of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
and north of W. 41st St. S., and between S. 71st W. Ave. and S. 47th W. Ave.
Berryhill has nine or ten churches, a store, a business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
or two, several creeks
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
, and many hills. The creeks tend to flow into Berryhill Creek before emptying into the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
near the railroad tracks off W. 21st St. near S. 57th W. Ave., in an area which will soon become part of the Gilcrease Expressway
Gilcrease Expressway
The Gilcrease Expressway is a highway in Tulsa County, Oklahoma's overall, long-term plan to complete an outer highway loop around Tulsa's central business district. The highway will connect Interstate 44 in West Tulsa to Interstate 244 near the Tulsa International Airport.-Route...
. Most of the homes directly east of S. 57th W. Ave and west of S. 55th W. Ave. have already been demolished and the first phase, the Gilcrease Expressway Extension, has been finished for several years.
The most important (for residents) and recognizable hill in the valley is Victory Hill, located just east and towering over the Berryhill Football Field. This hill is said to have some significance to the earliest inhabitants of Berryhill. Other hills have equal cultural significance to those from Berryhill. Cowbell Hill has been the scene of repeated fatal car accidents for travellers on S. 49th W. Ave.
The most famous hill in Berryhill is Chandler Park. Located in Berryhill and next to Chandler Park was a Superfund clean-up site. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
set up monitors to record exposure atop school buildings at Berryhill. The old refinery and the trash-to-energy plant between downtown Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and Berryhill contribute as sources of pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, although improved technologies promise less destruction to the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
of Berryhill than in the past.
History
At first, the area was called Happy Hollow. Much of the land in Berryhill was originally owned by a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
named Ryan Berryhill.
The old, original parts of Berryhill, although containing some affluent members, were mainly working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
families with high hopes for their children.
Both economic classes were attracted by the comparatively rural culture of Berryhill as opposed to the urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
going on in Tulsa, as well as the fact that there was an abundance of manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
jobs in nearby West Tulsa.
Berryhill's rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
culture is best described as the 1950s. This quality of Berryhill insulates one from the more stark reality of the modern world. Serious violent crime
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
is very rare, like in many other small towns. The rural ethnic of the Ozarks and Boomer/Sooner
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
spirit predominates the cultural orientation for most residents. Many have a great deal of pride in Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
heritage and culture as well.
Berryhill was not able to generate enough mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
to establish a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, and certain laws governing the geography of townships
Township (United States)
A township in the United States is a small geographic area. Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles , with being the norm.The term is used in three ways....
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
prevent the community from ever becoming a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
. This meant that the independent school district became the focus of the community.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, echoing cultural changes across the country, a marginalized drug culture grew among some of the families in Berryhill. Drinking
Drinking
Drinking is the act of consuming water or a beverage through the mouth. Water is required for many of life’s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems.-Physiology:...
was long a normal part of the local culture, usually reserved for the men who would slip over to the bars on Southwest Boulevard. Other drugs
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, especially marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, gained acceptance, especially with rebellious youth who wanted to strike out against the rigid class system at Berryhill.
In the 1980s, drug use seemed to leap across the traditional class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
structure. Parents desperate to save troubled youths transfer their student to Berryhill Schools, hoping the rural atmosphere would help. In fact, the new students from the city served to introduce new ideas of what was cool to the social elite, including rap music, trendy apparel, and use.
In 1982, the city of Tulsa proposed to extend its city limits to surround Berryhill. However, vigorous opposition by Berryhill residents and some Tulsa officials (e.g., Police Chief Harry Stege and City Engineer Harold Miller) resulted in leaving Berryhill outside the Tulsa line.
Post Rolling Oaks
The development of the Rolling Oaks area in the 1980s and 1990s, enabled affluent families to enjoy Sand Springs sanitary system, as opposed to the septicSeptic
Septic may refer to:* Septic tank, a component of a small scale sewage disposal system* Septic equation, a polynomial equation of degree seven* Septic shock...
system used by most of the residents of Berryhill. Also, many parents sought the more-individualized attention to students the Berryhill school district offered.
Eventually, the increase of well-to-do families on the hills over S. 65th W. Ave. led to other developments in Berryhill. Recent developments include an expansion of W. 41st St. into four lanes between S. 57th W. Ave. to SH-97 in Prattville, Oklahoma
Prattville, Oklahoma
Prattville is a community in Sand Springs, Oklahoma on SH-97. Prattville is located 10 miles west of Tulsa, and can be found on the south banks of the Arkansas River.-History:...
(Sand Springs), and construction of several new commercial buildings including a Tulsa Community College
Tulsa Community College
Tulsa Community College, formerly known as Tulsa Junior College, was founded in 1970 to serve Tulsa and the surrounding community. It is the largest two-year college in Oklahoma and serves approximately 30,000 students per semester in credit and continuing education classes...
campus, National Guard facility, a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
, and a carwash.
Tulsa has started an initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
to annex Berryhill into Tulsa city limits
City limits
The terms city limits and city boundary refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limits is sometimes called the city proper. The terms town limits/boundary and village limits/boundary mean the same as city limits/boundary, but apply to towns and villages...
before current laws governing annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
change which will make it more difficult for Tulsa to do in the future.
Berryhill schools
Berryhill School District is an independent school districtIndependent school district
An independent school district is a type of school district in the United States for primary and secondary education, which operates as an entity that is independent and separate from any municipality, county, or state...
. Classes are offered for students in Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
, Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
, elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Student population is nearly 1,150 as of 2004.
Berryhill High School serves grades 9-12. Behind the high school is the library. South of the high school is Berryhill Junior High School. Next to the junior high is the C.C. Ogilvie Fieldhouse which features the basketball court
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
for the high school, and the concession
Concession stand
A concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
where Berryhill High School students have the option of having lunch. Behind the junior high building and the fieldhouse is a building for the 16 time State and Grand Championship Band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
class, The Brigade. South of the fieldhouse is the wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
room. An additional athletics facility has been constructed on S. 65th W. Ave. across the street from Berryhill Fire Department's fire station.
The elementary grades are split between Berryhill North Elementary and Berryhill South Elementary.
School history
At one time, the South Elementary building served as both high school and junior high school, and elementary. After the school board built an elementary school, the building served as the high school and junior high school. Later, Berryhill built the high school, and the old building became Berryhill Junior High for grades 7-8. In 1988, a new junior high was built near the new high school and the building became the Upper Elementary building. In 2004, the north wing of the original build was demolished and a new building was constructed in its place and now the building is called Berryhill South Elementary School.Religion
Berryhill is a Bible BeltBible Belt
Bible Belt is an informal term for a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average.The...
community. On S. 57th W. Ave. is 1st Pentecostal Church of Tulsa, a member of the United Pentecostal Church International, pastored by Rev. Don Martin.
Many of the churches in Berryhill are Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. Berryhill Baptist is on W. 41st St. View Acres Baptist church is the voting
Voting
Voting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...
location for Oklahoma State District 64 and is located on S. 65th W. Ave.. The New Home Freewill Baptist church pastored by Rev. Roy Dale Smith is located across from the South Elementary.