Tullahassee is a town in

Wagoner County Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,981. Its county seat is Wagoner. Wagoner County is included in the Tulsa metropolitan area. History According to archaeological st ...

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. The population was 106 in both the 2010 and the 2000 censuses. It was the location of Tullahassee Mission, an Indian boarding school that burned in 1880. Because their population in the community had declined, the Muscogee Creek gave the school to

Creek Freedmen Creek Freedmen is a term for emancipated Creeks of African descent who were slaves of Muscogee Creek tribal members before 1866. They were emancipated under the tribe's 1866 treaty with the United States following the American Civil War, during ...

, paying to replace the main building, and relocated with their families to the area of Wealaka Mission. Tullahassee is considered the oldest of the surviving all-black towns in former

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. By 1880 Creek Freedmen and their descendants dominated the community population.O'Dell, Larry. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' "Tullahassee."

History

The town began in 1850, when the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a List of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large grou ...

approved the Tullahassee Mission School at this site on the

Texas Road The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, or Shawnee-Arbuckle Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory (later Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri). Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushing to ...

. It was founded by Robert McGill Loughridge, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister who had been serving in the Creek Nation since 1843 and had founded another mission that year. In the years before the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

, many Creek citizens of the town had Black slaves. In the early 1880s, the population of

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

had increased in the area, while the number of Muscogee Creek had declined. The freedmen were formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants who were emancipated and granted citizenship in the Creek Nation after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Some also had Creek ancestry. After a destructive fire at the school, the Creek Council decided to relocate most of their people, and transferred the Creek children to Wealaka Mission. They gave the school and community of Tullahassee to the freedmen in 1881. The Creek paid to have the school's main building replaced. The residents opened a post office in 1899, and the town was incorporated in 1902. The Tullahassee Town Site Company was established to aid developing the town, and it both platted the town in 1907 and recruited black residents from throughout the post-Reconstruction South, where

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

oppression was increasing. A. J. Mason served as president and L. C. Hardridge as secretary. This is now the oldest of the 13 surviving all-Black towns in the state, which were established during the period of

. At one time there were 50 all-black towns. The A. J. Mason Building is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NR 85001743). Carter G. Woodson School, named for a prominent black historian, is listed in the Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory, and noted for its link to African-American history. In 1914, the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

(AME) opened Flipper-Key-Davis College, also called Flipper-Davis, in the former Tullahassee Mission building. It was a period when private, municipal and state junior colleges were being founded. Flipper-Davis College was then the only private, higher-level education institution for African Americans in Oklahoma. This junior college closed in 1935 during 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 ...

. In June 2021, Tullahassee Mayor Keisha Cullin was one of 11 mayors to form MORE ( Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity), a coalition of mayors who promised to create reparation pilot programs in their municipalities. Other members of MORE included the mayors of such large cities as

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, and

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

."11 U.S. Mayors Commit To Developing Pilot Projects For Reparations,"
''Associated Press'' (June 18, 2021)

Geography

Tullahassee is located at (35.837758, -95.439295). It is northwest of Muskogee. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 106 people, 39 households, and 24 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 49 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 66.98%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 28.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.94% Native American, and 3.77% from two or more races. There were 39 households, out of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.40. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $14,750, and the median income for a family was $13,750. Males had a median income of $21,875 versus $12,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $8,537. There were 42.3% of families and 58.9% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 94.0% of under eighteens and 22.2% of those over 64.

2022 American Community Survey

According to the most recent

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, the racial makeup of the town was 27.40%

, 22.6%

, 6.16% Native American, and 43.84% from two or more races.

Education

Students are zoned to Porter Consolidated Schools.

Tullahassee Manual Labor School

The Tullahassee Manual Labor School, located in Tullahassee, Oklahoma was originally used as a Creek boarding school and became a school for

to gain education beyond an elementary school level. The institution was one of very few designated for Creek Freedmen and operated as such from 1883 to until it was sold to Waggoner County in 1914. Tullahassee Manual Labor School opened initially in 1850 as a school for Creek children, the school began operation in 1850 until a fire destroyed the building in 1880. The fire created an opportunity for the Creek children to be transferred to a different school, leaving the dilapidated building along with its 100 acres to be offered to the Creek Freedmen population in the area. Tullahassee Manual Labor School was reopened in 1883 primarily serving Creek Freedmen in Tullahassee. After Oklahoma gained statehood, it was owned by the government until 1914 when it was sold to Waggoner County and became Flipper Key Davis College, an institution primarily serving African Americans. As of today, Flipper Key Davis College is no longer in operation.

References

{{authority control Towns in Wagoner County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Muscogee (Creek) Nation Populated places in Oklahoma established by African Americans Populated places established in 1850 1850 establishments in Indian Territory