Historical Marker Program

Summit

Muskogee County
Location: in the community of Summit
Coordinates: 35.668461, -95.423847
Material: Other (Interpretive panel)
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Ethnic Diversity; Government; Recreational/Service; Settlement Patterns; Social/Culture; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Urban Development

Summit is one of 13 All-Black towns, out of more than 50 that once existed, remaining in Oklahoma. While Tullahassee is reportedly the oldest, most were established between 1889 and 1907 as African Americans sought security and control of their own destiny in a segregated world. Most of the towns began to decline in the 1920s and 1930s as rural African Americans faced economic hardships and began to move to urban areas. Summit had a post office as early as 1896 and was platted in 1910. It may have been named Summit because it was the highest point on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad between the Arkansas River and the North Canadian River. There were many businesses in Summit before World War II, including a cotton gin, filling station, grocery, and garage. Summit was incorporated in 1980.