Historical Marker

Boley

Okfuskee County · Oklahoma

In 1913 a man who called himself Chief Alfred Sam toured Oklahoma selling $25 shares in his Akim Trading Company as a family's passage to Africa's Gold Coast; one of his leaders published the African Pioneer here in Boley to defend the venture. About six hundred people wintered in camps near Weleetka. On August 20, 1914, sixty delegates sailed from Galveston on the Liberia. British authorities held the ship in Sierra Leone for forty-five days; on the Gold Coast many of the settlers fell sick or died, and some made their way back to Oklahoma.

What the plaque says

All-Black Towns of Oklahoma The All-Black towns of Oklahoma represent a unique chapter in American history. No where else, neither the Deep South nor the Far West, did so many African American men and women come together to live in and govern their own communities. By 1920, Oklahoma had more than 30 towns considered All-Black. All-Black towns grew after the Civil War when the former slaves of the Five Civilized Tribes settled together for mutual protection and economic security. When the lands of the tribes were allotted to individuals, most Indian "freedmen" chose land next to other African Americans. This created prosperous farming communities that could support towns. When the land run of 1889 opened yet more land to non-Indian settlement, African Americans from the Old South rushed to the new territory for free land. Edwin McCabe founded Langston and encouraged African Americans to settle in his All-Black town. He even had a vision for an All-Black state. Although his dream was never realized, many All-Black communities were established on the rich topsoil of the new territory and state. The All-Black towns of Oklahoma prospered until the 1920s but gradually declined under the pressure of Jim Crow laws that denied African Americans the right to vote, the Great Depression, and population flight from farm to city after World War II. Today, a few All-Black towns still survive, but all are remembered, a legacy of economic and political freedom. Boley Boley was founded by T.M. Haynes on land owned by Abigal Barnett, a Creek "Freedman." Lake Moore, vice president of the Ft. Smith & Western Railroad wanted to establish a depot at the Boley site believing African Americans were capable of governing themselves. Boley was named after J.B. Boley, a retired railroad official. Founded in 1903 and incorporated in 1905, Boley prospered. The Boley Progress, a weekly paper, began in 1905. The paper and advertising campaigns lured many residents to the new town. By 1911 Boley boasted more than 4,000 citizens (25,000 with surrounding areas) which supported many businesses, including two banks and three cotton gins. Booker T. Washington visited the town and called it, "the most enterprising and in many ways the most interesting Negro town in the United States." The town supported two colleges, the Creek-Seminole College and the Methodist Episcopal College. Boley also had its own electrical generating plant, water system, and ice plant. Around 1912, the Masonic Grand Lodge completed a majestic Masonic Temple. At the time it was the tallest building between Okmulgee and Oklahoma City. Like many rural towns, Boley suffered through the hard times of the 1920s and 1930s. By World War II the population had declined to 700 people. At the dawn of a new century, the town is hopeful again. The downtown business district is a National Historic Landmark. The John Lilly correctional center, Smokarama, and the Boley Public School System provide jobs to the area. The town hosts the oldest African-American community-based rodeo every Memorial Day weekend.

Where it stands

35.49339, -96.48418 · Directions

Worth the stop nearby

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