[6] After the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad laid tracks in the early 1880s, the community became a cow town, with the establishment of William Halsell's Bird Creek Ranch.

Catoosa was home to Bluford "Blue" Duck, the infamous outlaw depicted in Lonesome Dove.

The local economy included a grain elevator, a cotton gin and mill, a marble works and some coal mines.

Seven people were left dead in the tornado's wake, with six of the fatalities at a truck stop and one in a trailer park.

In the aftermath of the tornado, which caused an estimated $500,000 in damage,[8] 100 National Guard troops were deployed by Governor David Walters.

This location provides mid-America river shipping access at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7 square miles (18 km2), of which 7 sq mi (18 km2) is land and 0.14 percent is water.

Catoosa has an inland seaport and the terminus of the Kerr-McClellan Arkansas River Navigation System.

Catoosa is linked by the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad through Owasso to Tulsa and points north.