city, seat (1907) of Muskogee county, east-central Oklahoma, U.S., near the confluence of the Verdigris, Grand, and Arkansas rivers, surrounded by lakes, southeast of Tulsa. Founded in 1872 on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and named for the Muskogee (or Upper Creek) Indians, it became the agency headquarters for the Five Civilized Tribes ( Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole), which had been relocated from the east coast in the late 1820s and early 1830s. Growth was stimulated by the opening of oil and gas fields in 1904. Diversified industry includes the manufacture of glass and optical machinery, steel fabrication, and food processing. In 1970, with the opening of Arkansas River navigation, Muskogee became Oklahoma's first port with access to the Gulf of Mexico (Mexico, Gulf of). Bacone College was founded in 1880. The Five Civilized Tribes Museum (opened 1876) is in Honor Heights Park. The city is the home of the Oklahoma School for the Blind. Fort Gibson (1824; reconstructed) is nearby. Inc. 1898. Pop. (1990) 37,708; (2000) 38,310.