Thread: Sandtown circa 1884

Although it goes against the grain of conventional wisdom, it well may be that the Sandtown community, claimed to have been settled in 1884 by freedmen (i.e., freed slaves formerly owned by any of the Five Civilized Tribes), is the earliest residential area of Oklahoma City, predated the April 22, 1889, Land Run by 5 years.

How can this be so? See Doug Dawgz Blog: Sandtown Circa 1884 for the evidence presented, particularly by Ronald James Webb.

The area called "Sandtown" was the area bounded by W. Reno on the north, May Ave. on the west, SW 6th (then called "Katherine") on the south, and the former location of the North Canadian River on the east. The Manly's Map, circa 1948-1953, shown below, shows the area.



By today, the North Canadian River has been realigned, Interstate 40 has been built, and the old meat packing plants in Packingtown have been closed, and only a few remnants of Sandtown still exist and what's left is pretty much not recognizable of the origins of the community.

But, the area deserves its rightful place in the history of Oklahoma City.