Boley

History

Creek Freedmen in the Indian Territory, who were the descendants of Black slaves held by the Creek tribe and allotted 160 acres of land each as a result of the Dawes Commission, set up independent townships, of which Boley was one. The town was established on land owned by Abigail Barnett, the daughter of a Creek Freedman. The principal founder of Boley was Thomas M. Haynes. Lake Moore, a white speculator, contributed the initial $500 investment needed to lease Barnett's land for five years. Another influential figure was the town's namesake, J. B. Boley, a white official of the Fort Smith & Western Railroad who oversaw the development of a depot in the middle of Boley. After being approved for a post office two months prior in July, the town officially opened for settlement on September 26, 1903. One of the most influential early settlers in Boley was David J. Turner, a businessman who would, besides serving as town mayor and councilman on multiple occasions, also work as a bank president and pharmacist. including the first nationally-chartered Black-owned bank, three cotton gins, a movie theater, hotels, and multiple legal and dentistry practices. An annual subscription initially cost $1. Under the editorship of Oniel H. Bradley, the motto of the Progress was "All Men Up, Not Some Down." Bradley promoted an "emancipationist vision" of Boley, portraying the town as a place where Black southerners could escape discrimination and finally enjoy a real freedom to serve as "business men, farmers, merchants, and wage workers," free from the antagonism of hostile white mobs. However, he also worried that separation from whites, if carried to the extreme, would be detrimental to black communities in the long-run. George Washington Carver once called Boley "the most…

Geography

Boley is located approximately 13 miles east of Prague and 11 miles west of Okemah on US Highway 62. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• OAKES ES
  Elementary · Okemah · 245 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• MASON ES
  Elementary · Mason · 181 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• PADEN ES
  Elementary · PADEN · 153 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• MASON HS
  High · Mason · 74 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• PADEN HS
  High · PADEN · 63 students · 15.8:1 ratio