Located about 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Miami, it is part of the Joplin, Missouri metropolitan area.

[5] In 1891, Kansas farmer Isaac Bingham moved his family south into Ottawa County, then part of land assigned to the Quapaw Nation.

This event was celebrated with Quapaw Chief Victor Griffin laying a zinc tablet in the center of Main Street.

The region was left with widespread mine tailings, known as chat, and extensive environmental toxic hazards.

[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all land.

Quapaw is 9 miles (14 km) north of Miami and is the last town in Oklahoma on U.S. Highway 69A before the Kansas state line.

Quapaw is mentioned in the film Oklahoma as one of the towns in which the character Jud had worked at some point in the past.

Jud recounted a fictional case of deadly arson that occurred five years prior to the film's setting.

said his wife Peg (played by Catherine Bergstrom) was from Quapaw and that his father-in-law knew all about horses; they called him for advice.