Kendall Separate Town Once?

[waterboy]

No, its a white frame clapboard building that was being used for storage at least a year ago. Very non-descript. Inteller, there are no large public buildings like a courthouse or a post office. Likely there never was anything more than homes near the railroad tracks. I just thought you didn't know where it was. It was a predominantly black community. Some folks said that it grew in size primarily because of the flight of blacks from Tulsa after the race riot. They probably followed those rails.

Honestly, before TPS combined the populations of Whittier Elementary and Kendall Elementary it was never known as the Kendall/Whittier neighborhood or schools. Our neighborhood was named for a slight hill, thus HillCrest. The Hospital name followed later. The closest neighborhood to Whittier was called Squiggle.

[Neptune]

I think this stuff is fairly interesting.  Good thread.

Took me long enough, but I finally remembered two communities close enough to Tulsa to use as examples.  Berryhill, not a town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berryhill

Also learned a new term, "Census-Designated Place" or CDP.  Essentially, the same thing as a "community."  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census-designated_place

Gotta thank the Turley link at wiki for that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turley,_Oklahoma

Notice Turley's population, 3231 in the year 2000 census.  Communities can be very large, and never become an incorporated town.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

No, its a white frame clapboard building that was being used for storage at least a year ago. Very non-descript. Inteller, there are no large public buildings like a courthouse or a post office. Likely there never was anything more than homes near the railroad tracks. I just thought you didn't know where it was. It was a predominantly black community. Some folks said that it grew in size primarily because of the flight of blacks from Tulsa after the race riot. They probably followed those rails.

The last time I recall structures still existing in the original, identifiable Alsuma was around 1970, at least that is the last time I remember seeing it.  I remember the railroad tracks going through the neighborhood and lined by old houses, most very dilapidated.  I think you are correct about the origins of Alsuma, at least that is the story I was told.  It was primarily a black neighborhood up until the end.  I vividly recall one old house that was completely covered on the exterior with old car license plates.  The area was between 41st & 51st, east of Mingo.

In the 1960s, whenever Alsuma came up in conversation, it was always talked about in very "hushed tones,"  at least among middle-class whites.  Probably because it was so shameful that in a city as rich as Tulsa, such abject poverty was allowed to exist.

[Hometown]

If I'm not mistaken the Kendall Whittier area was considered Tulsa's first suburb.  It was called "Eastland."

[jkeyeser]

I don't know how long L&C has been at 7th and Garnett or any previous location(s).

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates

quote:Originally posted by jkeyeser

Although I am not sure what communities/town it served...but East Central was once its own school district.  Since I don't live in Tulsa anymore, I am not sure if any trace of the old school buildings are left at Admrial and Garnett (NE corner).

Some of the old buildings are now used by Wright Christian Academy. I seem to recall Lewis & Clark Jr. High was there after East Central High moved into its new building on 11th.

Lynn Lane, Romoland, and Tower Heights are all communities that were within the East Central district -- Lynn Lane's school building still stands -- but none were incorporated.

Regarding Highland Park, I'm pretty certain that it was incorporated, as I've seen the newspaper articles about their vote to dis-incorporate and be annexed by Tulsa, sometime in the early '50s. The town encompassed the quarter-section southeast of 31st and Yale.

(Edited: I just double-checked some annexation articles Jack Blair gave me a couple of years ago. Highland Park was annexed in 1956, and at the time it was the full square mile from 31st to 41st, Yale to Sheridan.)

[RecycleMichael]

quote:Originally posted by inteller
There are only 11 people in this "town"  and apparently its some rich indian women.  pancakes is this?

Is she single?

[bugo]

Since I'm familiar with the area, I'd mention Frink, Nashoba, Honobia, and maybe Smithville, as examples of "communities".  Though that may have changed at some point.  The community of Frink may have been annexed by the City of McAlester by this point.

I believe Smithville is incorporated.  Watson and Octavia are not.  I could be wrong, however.

How is "Honobia" pronounced?  I've always heard it as "ho-nu-bby".

Speaking of pronounciations, the talking weather heads almost always pronounce Poteau as "POE-toe" like it rhymes with "Chouteau."  I've always heard it as "po-to" until I moved here.

[orion]

This is a fascinating thread! any history on New Tulsa out east..I am sure it was old farmland and now all industrial..But I remember seeing it on older INCOG maps, and heard stories there wa  some kind of small housing area there..Don't know if was just a few houses, shanty town, I don't think it would have been any kind of housing development..any thoughts?

[cannon_fodder]

Official list of incorporated areas in Oklahoma and classification (city of town):

http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/cities.html

[Michael71]

If you go to the library at TU...go to the 5th floor(special collections) during normal business hours.  They will let you look at any of the old yearbooks & if you like a pic or page, they'll scan it & email to you for a minimal fee.
I've done it several times & found some really cool pics that I had never seen before.

[custosnox]

If I can remember to do so this weekend, I've got an old oklahoma map out of an atlas that I'll scan off and post on here.  I can't remember the date on it, but it shows dawson, mingo and redforks.