Monday, July 25, 2011

Mappy Monday - The Mystery of an old "Negro Settlement"


US General Land Office Map - 1879


Several months ago on another blog, I posted a story about a community that had no name----it was only known for almost three decades as simply Negro Settlement.

For 30 years, this simall and mysterious black community lived in Indian Territory, just north of the Chickasaw Nation.  They were not transients because a number of cartographers documented them for more than three decades. Then they vanished----with no trace, and no local knowledge of who they were.  And what was this settlement really called?  Surely those who lived there called it something---but what?  Who were the people?
1887 Map Reflecting the same settlement
Chicago: Henry S. Stebbins, 1887; From Crams Universal Atlas of the World


1893 Rand McNally Map

Having taken a maps class, I hope to be able to pinpoint more accurately where this might be today.  Since writing the original post, I have heard from a gentleman who owns property near that site and he did agree that I was somewhat close to the community when I used google map images . He also went to the local courthouse and found a map that was created in the 1870s, reflecting the same community.  And he did state that the images that I used from Google Maps was fairly close to the area.



Possible site near Slaughterville Oklahoma where the old Negro Settlement thrived.

There is still today little activity along the banks of  Walnut Creek which is nearby, and also the railroad running close by.

My hope is that I might be able to locate also some of the narratives from the Indian Pioneer Papers---1930's era interviews conducted in Oklahoma that might make a reference to the old settlement.
The mystery continues but I am anxious to apply some mapping skills to learn much more.

2 comments:

Mediation Experts said...

Strange, All the best for your research.

Anonymous said...

Check out this book on HeritageQuest: Morgan, Jonnie R. Pages 87 and 88
The history of Wichita Falls
Oklahoma City, Okla.: Economy Print. Co., 1931, 257 pgs.