Black Towns Project Archive

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Black Towns Project Archive This archive supports the Black Towns Project - an effort to preserve and promote the stories of over 200 historically black towns in the United States.

The Black Towns Project is an effort to preserve and promote the continued study of these crucial, and sometimes forgotten, stories from America’s past. We invite you to browse our Black Towns Index (categorized by state and town) on the website and explore the history of these important town-building efforts. This site is still under construction, but the complete list of towns by state is available to browse. The Black Towns Project will continue to add information and town histories, and invites those who do not see a town on the list to submit it through our Submit a Black Town page. If you would like to moderate a black town page, please visit our Moderate a Black Town’s Page to sign-up.

10/24/2026

is hiring! 📣
Do you love history, museums, working with amazing people, and learning new things every day? We might be the place for you! Visit https://www.okhistory.org/about/jobs to learn more and apply.

Nothing about it is new.
10/24/2026

Nothing about it is new.

American elections aren’t what they used to be. Thanks to relentless, politically driven gerrymandering, fewer and fewer congressional seats are truly compet...

10/23/2026

Alumni, share your career journey with BereaBOND to show current students what’s possible.

Add your story today: https://bit.ly/4ifuuLM

10/23/2026
10/23/2026

This week on the descendant spotlight series we’re featuring Rosa Stokes (1924-2022).

Rosa Stokes was born in rural Graham County and went to Mount Olive Elementary School before attending Bogue High School. She grew up on a sizeable farm of 790 acres and with a large family of 12 siblings. She lived for a while in Colorado where she was in the catering business and married Oliver Stokes in 1969. Later, she assisted senior citizens through an organization called Jill’s Helping Hand.

Rosa was a prolific cook, making everything from deep fried turkey to desserts. In Rosa's oral history interview she talked about learning how to cook from her mother, “Well, she would be sitting down telling us what to do. Nothing measured: just take your hands and do such and such. So we did… That’s the way she taught us to cook! She taught us to cook that way.”

The oral tradition passed down through the Nicodemus descendants deepens our understanding of the perseverance of the community through the past and into the future.

NPS Photo

10/20/2026

A new exhibition at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, "Black Cowboys: An American Story," brings a wider view of the American West into focus, highlighting the Black cowboys who helped shape it.

bit.ly/4BoWe9x

10/11/2026
10/10/2026

⚠️ Attention Visitors! ⚠️

The Township Hall is getting a new roof! A crew from the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) will be on site for the next 2-3 weeks for this project.

The Township Hall will still be open, but a hard hat zone is in place around most of the building.

Please follow safety signs and yield to crew members during your visit!

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Ada, OK
74820

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