Most of Brooksville was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1910.
One of more than fifty All-Black towns of Oklahoma, Brooksville is one of only thirteen still existing at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Located in Pottawatomie County 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Tecumseh, Brooksville was established in 1903. Originally the town was named Sewell, after a white doctor who owned much of the surrounding land and attended the residents. In 1909 the name changed to Brooksville in honor of the first African American in the area, A. R. Brooks, a cotton buyer and farmer. Brooks served as postmaster here from March 18, 1909, until January 27, 1913, at which time his son, William M. Brooks, became postmaster. In 1906 Rev. Jedson White organized St. John's Baptist Church. Soon afterward, the congregation built a church that still exists. White also promoted the town throughout the South, urging African Americans to settle in Brooksville. Brooksville…
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
