Historical Marker

Lima

Seminole County · Oklahoma

In 1925 residents won Moore et al. v. Porterfield et al., in which the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that because Black students were the majority, 232 to 16, the Black school would be the independent district and any white school would legally be the separate one. Four years earlier John L. Simpson of the Farmers' Union had led an effort to bring African Americans into the union, and its Local Number One was formed here. The oil boom later brought white settlers, who built their own village, New Lima.

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. Lima Lima is named after the once abundant limestone quarries in the area. According to Works Progress Administration research, Lima was founded in 1904. The town was established on the Rock Island Railway line and maintained its own post office from July 17, 1907 until August 23, 1957. Lima was incorporated six years after statehood on April 8, 1913. In 1919 Mr. A. H. Fur, a traveling agent for the Black Dispatch Newspaper, reported that Lima had a "fine brick school with five teachers." A new school building, Rosenwald Hall, was constructed in 1921. The building was named after Julius Rosenwald. Mr. Rosenwald helped build African American schools throughout the South. By 1928 the student enrollment exceeded 300 and the faculty increased to twelve. The faculty included Mr. W. A. Dobson, Principal, Mr. L. K. Jackson, Vice Principal and instructor for seventh grade, eight grade and basketball coach, Mr. Joe S. Johnson, Manual Training instructor, Ms. R. L. Gant, Domestic Science and Art instructor, Mrs. C. W. Cousins, English and Latin instructor, Ms. Burrows, Ms. Payne, and Ms. Logan, grade school instructors, and Mrs. Dobson assisted in the Library. Discovery of the Seminole Oil Field in 1926 ushered in a period of prosperity. The Lima business district included several stores, a sawmill, a cotton gin, a jail, hotels, a gasoline station, a luncheonette and a locally owned telephone company. The Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church built in 1915, and the Secipio Baptist Church are listed as resources in Oklahoma related to African-American History. The Rosenwald Hall school building is now on the National Register of Historic places. April 8, 1995 was proclaimed "Lima, Oklahoma Day" by the House of Representatives of the 1st session of the 45th Oklahoma Legislature as a result of efforts of Mayor Tammie Hill and the town trustees.

Where it stands

35.17398, -96.59847 · Directions

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