The Historic Context for African American History in Muskogee, Oklahoma

Warde, Mary

Abstract: "The purpose of this document is to present information regarding African American history in the vicinity of today’s Muskogee, Oklahoma. Documentation reveals that African Americans have been in the vicinity of Muskogee since the early 1800s. However, they arrived in significant numbers as freedmen or slaves with the Muscogee (Creek) Indians in the immigrations of 1828 and 1836. “African Creeks” were farming in the Three Forks (Three Rivers) vicinity when Muskogee was founded as a station on the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad in 1872. Freedmen from eastern states and African Creeks formed the nucleus of a vibrant African American population in Muskogee in the 1890s. However, Oklahoma statehood in 1907 ushered in segregation of African Americans in neighborhoods south, west, and northwest of Muskogee’s central business district. Within those neighborhoods African American residents created vibrant communities bolstered by schools and churches. Black businessmen and entrepreneurs created a commercial district along and near 2nd Street. Elementary schools in black neighborhoods and the Manual Training High School (1909-1970) produced young people unusually well prepared for business and the professions. The end of segregation in the mid-1900s brought Muskogee’s African Americans improvements in civil rights and more access to higher education, but interviewees who lived through those times believed it weakened the strong sense of community that had supported and sustained them for decades. Even today Muskogee remains rich in resources—buildings, a park, and potential historic districts—that recall the history of African Americans in Muskogee." Funding was provided in part by a 2013 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Muskogee (project number OK-13-615) administered by the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (grant number P13AF00012) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Muskogee, Oklahoma is a Certified Local Government.

The Historic Context for African American History in Muskogee, Oklahoma

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