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Boley, Oklahoma, is located in the central part of Okfuskee county on the Fort Smith and Western Railway and United States Highway number 62. Boley, Oklahoma, is sixty-two miles east of Oklahoma City and twelve miles west of Okemah, the county seat.
The townsite, Boley proper, was located on the north half of the north-east quarter of Section twenty nine, township twelve, north, range eight east.
Honorable Lake Moore (white) president of the Fort Smith and Western Townsite Company introduced the idea of establishing an exclusively Negro town. The Fort Smith and Western Railway at that time (1903) was building westward toward Guthrie. Mr. Boley, who was road master of the Fort Smith and Western Railway, took great interest in the development of Mr. Moore's idea. Because of the interest manifested by Mr. Boley, the town was named in honor of him. The location of Boley at the point midway between Paden and Castle was due largely to the fact that most of the land in this particular area was allotted to Creek Freed men: The Johnsons, Barnetts, Walkers, Graysons and many other Freedmen. One hundred and sixty acres of land was given to each member of all Creek Freedman families.
The property that the town of Boley was built upon belonged to Miss Abigail Barnett, the present Mrs. H. C. McCormick. Many additions have been made to the original town so that it comprises about three hundred acres now.
Early in 1904 the town of Boley was plotted by the townsite company. Mr. T. M. Haynes (colored) was chosen as townsite manager. Mr. Haynes began immediately to advertise the intents and purposes of the town which brought a ready response. A formal opening was held on September 22, 1904. A petition was signed by two hundred inhabitants of Boley on March 30, 1905 and filed in the Western district of the Federal Court at Sapulpa by Messrs. T. M. Haynes, H. C. Cavil, and Hilliard Taylor for the incorporation of Boley. The petition was heard and granted at the sitting of the court at Wewoka, May 10th, 1905.
The first election of town officials was held immediately after the incorporation. Mr. T. B. Armstrong was elected Mayor; James Watkins, Clerk; T. R. Ringo, City Justice. Much enthusiasm and interest was manifested by the citizens at the election.
Such enterprising and agressive citizens as Hilliard Taylor, who conducted a gin and a saw mill; H. C. Cavil, who conducted a general mercantile business; T. B. Armstrong who conducted a hardware store; Mr. D. J. Turner who conducted a drug store, a long distance telephone, and in connection with Mr. T. M. Haynes, conducted a real estate business, deserve everlasting praise for the untiring efforts that they have put forth in the building of Boley.
In the pioneer days such men and women as Lawyer M. J. Jones, Miss C. M. Taylor, Mr. D. M. Williamson, Mr. H. J. Jones, Mr. J. F. Gooden, Mr. James Barnett, Mr. J. C. Trimble, Mr. R. B. Smith, Dr. J. Allen White, Mr. James Williamson, Mr. R. C. McCormick, Mrs. Hallie S. Jones, Mr. Abe Manuel, Mr. L. W. Wallace, and Mr. Henry Avery, with the support and cooperation of the entire citizenship never lost an opportunity to develop everything in Boley and in the surrounding territories.
A brick yard, a lumber yard, an ice plant, an electric light plant, a newspaper establishment, gins, business houses, theater house, schools and churches have served as wonderful agencies in the building of Boley.
The writer of this article began the publication of "The Boley Progress" in March 1905 and with the cooperation of citizens gained a wide circulation and served as an advertising medium for the town.
Boley has had three banks, the Farmers and Merchants, The Boley Bank and Trust Company and the First National Bank.
The present city officers of Boley are as follows: one mayor, a clerk, a justice of the peace, treasurer, city attorney, water superintendent and city marshall.
The State Masonic Temple for Masons and Eastern Stars is located at Boley.
There are Protestant Churches of all denominations represented in Boley and one Catholic church. These institutions show modern improvements and lend religious development to its inhabitants.
An American Railway and Express office and a Western Union Telegraph Office are maintained in the incorporated town of Boley.
The citizens of Boley and outlying districts boast of a high school accredited with twenty-one units, a faculty of fourteen and adequate facilities with which to do high school work. More than fifty per cent of the total high school enrollment comes from adjacent elementary schools and are conveyed to and from school each day by modern buses.
The state of Oklahoma maintains a Training School for Negro boys here where the State Tubercular Sanitarium was formerly located.
Boley will always stand as an attestation of sacrifices and untiring efforts of the early pioneers and serve as a symbol of progress and an inspiration to future generations.
By O. H. Bradley
Town Clerk, Boley, Okla.
September, 1934
W. H. Wallace, T. B. Armstrong, D. J. Turner,
T. M. Haynes, H. C. Cavil, M. J. Jones, Washington Williams, Dr. C. B.
Powell, C. C. Chambers, T. R. Ringo, W. A. Kennedy
L. H. Martin, city attorney; H. C. Gaze, water
superintendent; J. L. McCormick, city marshall; J. T. Abram, justice of
the peace; B. Oliver, councilman; William Hazel, treasurer; Dr. H. M. Sanders,
councilman; Dr. W. A. Paxton, health doctor; C. P. Young, mayor; O. H.
Bradley, city clerk, C. L. White, councilman.
Dr. W. A. Paxton; C. P. Young; William Hazel,
pres.; H. C. McCormick, chairman of executive committee; L. A. Hill, treasurer;
H. O. Mariott, secretary; Dr. R. C. Patten; Dr. H. M. Sanders, vice-president.
Rosa J. Parker, Home Ec.; Hallie S. Jones,
vice-princ. of grades; Mrs. Alice Mariott, English, J.H.S.; F. W. Sullivan,
Prin. Of H.S.; Leona Jones, 2nd Grade; E. L. T. Person, Supt.; Ira P. L.
Anderson, Social Sc.; Letchen A. Hill, Supt. of Schools; E. B. Cavil, Science
and Coach; L. Ashley, Prin. Of Grades; T. Abram, J.H.S.; Willie Cavil,
4th and 5th grades; Mrs. F. J. Langrum, Forn. Language; V. B. Dolphin,
English and History; Mrs. L. A. Hill, Primary teacher.
Jim Barnett, Lum Nelson, James Bowler, Judge
Manual, James Lee Robinson, A. E. Hogue, E. R. Cavil, Henry Avery, Morris
Barnett, Mrs. Georgie Avery, Mrs. Annie Hughes, Mrs. Hallie S. Jones, Mrs.
D. J. Turner, Tom McCormick, Sr., Lonnie Wallace and mother, O. H. Bradley.
Madams Wm. Hazel, Ed Alexander, C. Armstrong,
E. R. Cavil, L. L. Dolphin, Mae Arrington, R. Floyd, D. C. Fitzgerald,
Zollar, S. J. King, J. T. Abram, L. A. Hill, B. J. McDaniel, L. Turner.
Fern D. Anderson, Archille Herbert, Blanche
Cowan, Cecil Cowan, Mable L. Mast, Robert Doster, Rosa J. Parker, Ira P.
L. Anderson, Christine Owens, Lilliard Ashley, Dimple Walker.
Caesr Felton Simmons, Jr. Was born at Gainesville, Sumpter County, Alabama, March 23, 1866, being the oldest of a family of four boys. His parents were Caesar Simmons, Sr., and Mariah Washington Simmons, people of pure Negro blood who occupied places of honor and esteem among their race and who merited the greatest trust, respect and confidence of all who knew them.
From his early childhood Simmons was taught
to feel proud of his blood, unmixed with that of any other race, and to
live a life that would reflect nothing but honor upon his ancestry. With
such parental hands to guide him in the ways of truth, integrity, honesty,
and righteousness, it is no wonder that he chose early in life an ideal
of service - service to God, race, and country.
This page was last updated on 08/11/11
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