Centralia is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Craig County,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, United States.
History
It is said to have been founded by J. H. Hargrove in 1898 and named for
Centralia, Missouri
Centralia is a city in Boone County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 4,541 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 4,244 in 2018. A very small portion of the city lies in Audrain County.
The Boone County portion ...
. The town prospered between 1907 and 1915, before entering a long decline.
According to a 1901 article from the ''
Kingfisher Free Press
Kingfisher is a city in and the county seat of Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, Kingfisher County, Oklahoma,. The population was 4,903 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the former home and namesake of Kingfisher College ...
'', Centralia was once dominated by its Black population.
A raid on a Black household commenced after reported shootings at other residents, after which the article reads, "
No negroes are allowed to live in the vicinity of Centralia."
The post office opened April 11, 1899, with Hargrove as the first postmaster. Several businesses opened during the next couple of years. Most of them were housed in wooden buildings that had been constructed around a town square. Most of the business district was destroyed by a fire on January 11, 1907. Another fire on July 22, 1917, destroyed about one-third of the district.
Demographics
By 1915, the population peaked at 750 residents. Two banks functioned in the town, until both failed ''circa'' 1929. A combination of the fires, the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and the failure of the proposed railroad from Vinita to Coffeyville resulted in the large-scale abandonment of Centralia. The 1980 census recorded 43 residents. By 2010, only seven or eight inhabitants remained in ZIP Code 74301.
See also
*
List of sundown towns in the United States
A sundown town is a municipality or neighborhood within the United States that practices or once practiced a form of racial segregation characterized by intimidation, hostility, or violence among White people directed toward non-Whites, especial ...
References
Further reading
* Shirk, George H. ''Oklahoma Place Names''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
External links
Centraliaat GhostTowns.com
"AbandonedOK: Centralia, OK"Ghost Towns In OklahomaMap Of Ghost Towns In Oklahoma
Unincorporated communities in Craig County, Oklahoma
Ghost towns in Oklahoma
Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma
Populated places within the Cherokee Nation reservation
Sundown towns in Oklahoma
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