Alsuma, Oklahoma

 

...was a rural community located between Tulsa and Broken Arrow in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was initially named Welcome, Oklahoma, but was renamed Alsuma in 1905 after a U.S. Post Office was opened there. Some say that the town was named after a local merchant, John Alsuma, however, legend has it that the name “Alsuma” was given to the town as a compromise between three town leaders after dis-agreement of what new name be given the town. The three leaders agreed to take the first two letters of three young girls and named the town in that manner. The young girl's names were Alice, Susan and Maria (Mary), “ALSUMA”. The U.S. Government opened a post office there in 1905 and discontinued service in 1926. At its’ largest size, the community covered approximately 165 acres and housed about seventy-five (75) families of different races, cultures and religions.

 

While there existed families of African descent, Alsuma also housed Native and Tribal families, families of European descent, and some families from various Spanish descents. Some newspapers during its' existence characterized Alsuma as one of Oklahoma’s many “Black Towns”. In 1909, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, famously known as the MKT or "The Katy", built a station in Alsuma. The railroad station was renamed Trovillion but after having the railroad sign repeatedly destroyed or stolen, the company ultimately restored the beloved "Alsuma" signage. In 1940, the Alsuma Railroad Station was parmanately closed.

 

Throughout its’ history, Alsuma was divided by railroad tracks that ran between the town separating the community into separate sections, one "white" and one "black" with a few other "cultures" mixed in. Alsuma had its' own park, where both black and white children played in common during the era of segregation while nearby in the City Tulsa, prohibited by its' segregation laws, children played divided.  Alsuma had its own school for children of African descent, the "Alsuma Separate School", while the "white" children went to schools associated with Union High School, a substantially superior learning school system that was located  two miles away. After segregation was outlawed, the children of Alsuma were merged into the Union School system and the Alsuma Separate School was no more, permanently closed. In 1965, the City of Tulsa would annex Alsuma and the town of Alsuma became nothing more than a memory.

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 After being annexed and although Alsuma was now within the city limits of Tulsa, the city did not and would not extend city services such as indoor plumbing to rural areas like Alsuma and other annexed lands outside of the city limits. The city ordinance remained in place for several years and forbid any new construction without a city permit, particularly housing. Alsuma residents were allowed to build outdoor septic tanks (toilets) while less than a mile away sat a newly constructed housing development adorned with modern amenities and full city services. Because of the lack of city services in Alsuma and the lack of survivable employment opportunities, many Alsuma residents were forced to move away. By 1969, Alsuma had dwindled down to no more than ten families on the black side of the railroad tracks and about the same on the north. In the mid-1970s, the city of Tulsa passed zoning laws to redevelop the Alsuma area into an industrial park under the protection of “Urban Renewal”. Rezoned for industrial use only, Alsuma died except for a lone soccer field named in the town's honor. What remaining families were still there soon left or died off. Once the rezoning laws to industrial use was in place, only then did the City of Tulsa permit the extension of sewer and other water systems to Alsuma, now Tulsa.

 

Today, there are only a very few physical traces of Alsuma that still exist. One being a wooden sign located on 51st Street South between Mingo Road and Garnett Road. The sign reads, “Alsuma Soccer Field”. Although used at certain times for community use, the Tulsa Park and Recreation Department officially lists “Alsuma Park”, located at 9801 E. 51st Street, as a recreation area, however, it is primarily used for storm water retention. 

 

The only other trace left of Alsuma would be a church that sat for years next to the railroad tracks that separated the black and white Alsumans. The Alsuma First Baptist Missionary Church, although not located in the original area of Alsuma, was forced to relocate to North Tulsa after the city rezoned Alsuma as industrial use only. The church still exists today and is located at 2443 North Peoria Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The original town of Alsuma is now regarded as a "Ghost Town". Through your memories, Alsuma is historic and full of legacy to be told.

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Enjoy the reconnections and enjoy Peace, yes?