[6] Jacob Bartles, son-in-law of Delaware chief Charles Journeycake, moved from Wyandotte County, Kansas, to Indian Territory in 1873.

In the following year, he bought a grist mill on the Caney River and modified it to produce flour.

Bartles then built a two-story general store and residence, and added a rooming house, a blacksmith shop and a livery stable.

[7] Development of the present city began after William Johnstone and George B. Keeler opened a general store on the south side of the Caney River in 1884.

The town was surveyed and platted in 1898, and eighty acres were offered to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad for a depot.

The railroad, though its Kansas, Oklahoma Central and Southwestern Railway subsidiary, reached the town in 1899.

[7] Bartlesville was also home to Frank Phillips (November 28, 1873 – August 23, 1950) who along with his brother, Lee Eldas "L.E."

By 1907, the restriction had been lifted, and newspapers noted the town's first natural death of an African American, a man named Robert McGee.

[10] The Bartlesville Telemovie System debuted with the film The Pajama Game, starring Doris Day, and aired it to an audience of 300 homes.

The city was split in half for several days, and the flood caused considerable property damage.

However, even with this record of extremes, the climate of Bartlesville is considered humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa) with cool winters and hot summers, with the majority of precipitation falling in spring, between the months of April and June.

The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 79.0% White (76.1% non-Hispanic), 3.1% Black or African American, 8.7% Native American, 1.4% Asian (0.4% Indian, 0.3% Chinese, 0.2% Vietnamese), 2.1% reporting some other race, 5.7% reporting two or more races and 5.9% Hispanic or Latino (4.5% Mexican, 0.3% Spanish or Spaniard, 0.2% Puerto Rican).

[24][25] After ConocoPhillips formed, the combined company established a global systems and services office in Bartlesville.

[26] ConocoPhillips spun most of its operations not related to exploration and production to form a new company, Phillips 66, in 2012.

A writer for the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune said, "I never quite understood why the town where I spent my high school years wasn't named Phillipsburg.

[30][31] The Bartlesville Industrial Park landed a multi-million dollar lithium-ion battery recycling plant in September of 2023.

World-renowned musicians who have performed at OK Mozart include Itzhak Perlman, Joyce Yang, Joshua Bell, and André Watts.

An Oklahoma Indian Summer Festival[38] is held at the Community Center downtown each fall.

His ranch and retreat about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Bartlesville is called Woolaroc (a portmanteau of the words woods, lakes, rocks).

A working ranch of 3,700 acres (1,500 ha), Woolaroc houses a museum exhibiting Phillips's extensive collections of Native American, western, and fine art.

The property includes the Phillips family's lodge and mausoleum, along with a huge wildlife preserve with herds of American bison, elk, Texas longhorn cattle, water buffalo, zebra, and more than 20 other animal species.

A special display honors Lance Corporal Thomas A. Blair, Oklahoma's first casualty during the Iraq War.

Career and technical training is provided by Tri County Technology Center, which offers several programs for high-school and adult students along with short-term courses.

In December 2018, Tri-County Tech was recognized for performance excellence as one of the recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

[46] Bartlesville Municipal Airport sits on the city's west side on US-60 in Osage County.

[50] Bartlesville is served by the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, a shortline carrier of Watco.