Boley

Okfuskee County · in community of Boley

Boley is one of 13 All-Black towns, out of more than 50 that once existed, remaining in Oklahoma. While Tullahassee is reportedly the oldest, most were established between 1889 and 1907 as African Americans sought security and control of their own destiny in a segregated world. Boley was established in 1903 on land owned by a Muscogee (Creek) Freedwoman, Abigail Barnett. Boley was incorporated on May 11, 1905. By 1911 it boasted more than 4,000 citizens (25,000 in surrounding areas) and many businesses, including two banks and three cotton gins. The town hosts the oldest African American community-based rodeo every Memorial Day weekend.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Oklahoma Historical Society, Historical Marker Program. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's marker database, reproduced with the Society's written permission.
Sponsored by Oklahoma Historical Society
This marker on the program's own site

More markers nearby

Okfuskee County, Rosenwald Schools, and Boleyunder 1 mi
Boley, Oklahomaunder 1 mi
Paden, Oklahoma5 mi
Cromwell11 mi

On the National Register nearby

Boley Historic District250 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.