Boley is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,126 (including the local prison population) at the 2000 census.
The Boley Public School District is one of the smallest public school districts in the state of Oklahoma. For the most recent data available, it tied with Sweetwater for the smallest high school with 15 students. For a combined district, K-12, Boley finished first, just ahead of Clarita (58) and Sweetwater (60), with 51 students.[3] Boley is also home to BBQ equipment maker, Smokarama, Inc, and the John Lilley Correctional Center. The Boley Historic District is a National Landmark. [4][5] Currently Boley hosts The Annual Boley Rodeo & Bar-B-Que Festival festival. [6]
History
The coming of the Fort Smith & Western Railroad allowed agricultural land to be more profitably used as a townsite. Property owned by the Barnett family, among other Creek freedmen, midway between Paden and Castle was ideal for a station stop. Once the railroad management was convinced a Negro town was viable Boley, Creek Nation, Indian Territory was created. As there were no other Negro towns nearby, the town population quickly swelled as the Great Migration got under way. During the early part of the 20th century Boley was one of the wealthiest Negro towns in the US boasting the first nationally chartered bank owned by blacks, and its own electric company.[7] Booker T. Washington visited Boley in 1905, and was so impressed he included Boley in his speeches. Boley's development paralled the railroad, after World War I a fall in agricultural prices and the bankruptcy of the railroad caused Boley to also go bankrupt in 1939. With the Second Great Migration underway by 1960 most of the population had left. [8] [9] So far the New Great Migration has not benefited Boley.
Boley Timeline
- 1911 Facts about Boley, Okla. the largest and wealthiest exclusive Negro city in the world. Published in 1911, Commercial Club (Boley, Okla) [11]
- 1922 "Produced in the All-Colored City of Boley, Okla." The Crimson Skull; Baffling Western Mystery Photo-Play, staring Bill Pickett, was an example of the race movie genre.[12]
- 1925, State Training School for Incorrigible Negro Boys was located in Boley, it would become the John Lilley Correctional Center.
- 1926 The Boley Progress ceases publication.
- 1932 Armed citizens of Boley thwart a bank robbery attempt by members of Pretty Boy Floyd's gang.[13]
- 1934 30th Anniversary Celebration[14]
- 1961 First of the Annual Boley Rodeo & Bar-B-Que Festivals.
- 1975 Boley Historic District given landmark status.
Inscription on Oklahoma Historical Society plaque honoring Boley
Boley, Oklahoma Est. August 1903 - Inc. May 1905 Boley, Creek Nation, I.T., Established as all black town on land of Creek Indian "Freedwoman" Abigail Barnett. Organized by T.M. Hayes first townsite manager. Named for J.B. Boley, white roadmaster, who convinced Fort Smith & Western Railroad that blacks could govern themselves. This concept soon boosted population to 4,200. Declared National Landmark Historic District by Congress 5-15-1975. Oklahoma Historical Society [15]
"They have recovered something of the knack for trade that their fore-parents in Africa were famous for".[16]
"Boley, Indian Territory, is the youngest, most enterprising, and in many ways the most interesting of the Negro towns in the US."[17]
Notable Boleyites
Zenobia Powell Perry[1] (1908-2004), Composer [18]
Geography
Boley is located at 35°29′34″N 96°28′54″W / 35.49278°N 96.48167°W / 35.49278; -96.48167 (35.492813, -96.481776)[19]. The cemetery is located south west of the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.2 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,126 people (including the local prison population), 136 households, and 79 families residing in the town. The population density was 684.6 people per square mile (265.1/km²). There were 153 housing units at an average density of 93.0/sq mi (36.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 35.61% White, 54.71% African American, 4.97% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 1.51% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.11% of the population.
There were 136 households out of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 7.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 51.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 407.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 490.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $16,042, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $21,875 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,304. About 25.0% of families and 40.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.5% of those under age 18 and 20.3% of those age 65 or over.
References
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