RICH.

>> STEVE, THANK YOU.

>> A YEAR AGO, WE BEGAN A SPECIAL PROJECT TO CHRONICLE THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF OKLAHOMA'S 13 REMAINING HISTORIC BLACK TOWNS.

THIS WEEK, WE PRESENT OUR FINAL INSTALLMENT ON LIMA, LOCATED JUST OFF US HIGHWAY 270 BETWEEN SEMINOLE AND WEWOKA.

LIKE MOST OF THESE TOWNS, LIMA HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS, BUT HOPES FOR BETTER TOMORROWS AS WELL.

JASON DOYLE JOINS US NOW WITH HIS REPORT.

JASON?

>> RICH, LIMA'S MAYOR IS LEADING EFFORTS TO BRING THE OLD TOWN SOME NEW LIFE.

JUST LIKE MANY OF OUR OTHER BLACK FRONTIER TOWNS, LIMA HAS SOME HISTORY BEHIND IT TOO.

>> GIMME A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON ON THIS MAP YOU GOT HERE.

>> WELL, BACK WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, IT WAS HOUSING ALL UP IN HERE AND SOME DOWN AND THROUGH HERE, DOWN BROADWAY.

>> MAYOR SHAWN LOUIE AND HIS COUSIN, LIMA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEMBER MYRON LOUIS, LOOKING AT THE PAST TO MOVE THEIR TOWN FORWARD.

LIMA WAS INCORPORATED IN 1913, BUT THE TOWN GOT IT'S START A FEW YEARS BEFORE THAT, ALONG THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND, AND PACIFIC RAILROAD LINE.

>> THEY HAD LOTS OF DIFFERENT BUSINESSES HERE.

THEY HAD A POST OFFICE FROM, I THINK, 1907 TO '57.

THEY HAD THE ROSENWALD BUILDING THEY BUILT IN 1921.

THAT ROSENWALD BUILDING IS JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWN'S COMMUNITY CENTER.

IT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPETE ROSENWALD SCHOOLS REMAINING IN OKLAHOMA.

THEY WERE BUILT ACROSS THE SOUTH FOR BLACK STUDENTS BY THE JULIUS ROSENWALD FUND.

SEARS ROEBUCK AND COMPANY PRESIDENT, JULIUS ROSENWALD, BEGAN THE EFFORT IN ALABAMA AFTER FORMALLY ESTABLISHING THE FUND IN 1917.

IT SPREAD TO OTHER STATES WHICH KEPT ITS BLACK STUDENTS SEGREGATED FROM WHITE STUDENTS.

IN OKLAHOMA ALONE, THE ROSENWALD FUND HELPED BUILD NEARLY 200 EDUCATION-RELATED BUILDINGS BETWEEN 1920 AND 1932.

NOW THE TOWN'S LEADERS ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE ROSENWALD BUILDING INTO SOMETHING THE COMMUNITY CAN BE PROUD OF.

>> WHAT ARE THE PLANS ONCE YOU GET THE MONEY RAISED?

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO TO ROSENWALD HALL?

>> MAKE IT A COMMUNITY CENTER AND A TOURISM SPOT.

>> ME AND THE MAYOR AND A COUPLE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WE'VE BEEN DOING A LITTLE CLEANING OUT, TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF IT, YOU KNOW, JUST SO WE CAN GET A REAL GOOD LOOK AT IT, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ON IT.

BUT SO FAR, WE DO A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME, BUT WE MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF PROGRESS.

AND YOU KNOW, IT RAINS AND THIS AND THAT, BUT WE'RE DOING ALL RIGHT WITH IT.

>> CAROLYN JONES ATTENDED SCHOOL IN THE ROSENWALD BUILDING WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL.

>> THAT BUILDING RIGHT THERE ON THE CORNER, THE FIRST AND SECOND GRADE WAS IN THAT CLASS.

AND THEN YOU HAD THE CAFETERIA.

THAT'S WHERE YOU WENT.

ALL THE CLASSES WENT THERE TO EAT.

>> LIMA WAS NAMED AFTER THE LIMESTONE QUARRIES THAT ARE ALL AROUND THE TOWN.

IN FACT, A SHORT DRIVE, YOU CAN STILL FIND AN ACTIVE SITE LIKE THIS ONE.

AND REMEMBER IT'S LIMA, NOT LIMA, LIKE LIMA, PERU.

AND IF YOU BUMP INTO A LIMA RESIDENT, THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU SO.

>> THAT'S A LIMA.

THAT'S A BEAN, LIMA BEAN.

(LAUGHTER).

>> GROWING UP, JONES SAYS LIFE WAS GOOD IN LIMA.

LONGTIME RESIDENT HERMAN HILL AGREES.

>> I WAS BORN HERE.

I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL, GRADE SCHOOL HERE.

AND WHEN I GOT OUTTA HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS DRAFTED, SERVED IN VIETNAM, WOUNDED, MOVED TO THE CITY, GOT MARRIED, MOVED BACK TO LIMA.

>> HILL REMEMBERS A TIME WHEN THE OLD RAIL LINE WAS A VITAL LINK TO LIMA.

>> IN 1950, '53, I WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD.

I USED TO GO TAKE THE MAIL WITH HIM, ME AND A BUNCH OF BOYS, DOWN TO THE TRAIN TRACKS.

THEY HAD AN APPARATUS.

YOU PUT THE BAG UP THERE, AND THE TRAIN COME BY, AND REACH OUT AND GRAB THE BAG.

YOU SEE.

OKAY.

OLD MAIL BAG, YEAH.

>> AND THEN WE HAD -- RIGHT ON THE RAILROAD WAS A MOVIE THEATER.

DOWN IN HERE WAS THE JAIL AND POST OFFICE AND STUFF.

THAT RAIL STATION IS LONG GONE NOW, AND THE TRACKS ARE OVERGROWN WHERE THEY WEREN'T TAKEN UP.

>> CAN YOU GUYS IMAGINE WHAT THAT -- WHAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE IN THE HEYDAY?

I WISH I COULD'VE SEEN IT.

>> YEAH.

YOU KNOW, WE NEVER -- I'VE NEVER SEEN PICTURES OF IT OR ANYTHING.

>> BUT A CENTURY AGO, THOSE TRACKS PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN BRINGING WORKERS TO THE LIMA AREA WHEN OIL STARTED FLOWING FROM THE SEMINOLE OIL FIELDS IN MARCH OF 1923.

AS THE NEED FOR WORKERS GREW, THE ROADS FROM THE TOWN OF SEMINOLE WERE IN NO SHAPE FOR THE TRAFFIC.

MANY OF THE WORKERS TOOK THE TRAIN TO NEARBY LIMA AND OTHER POINTS IN THE HISTORIC OIL DISCOVERY.

THE BLACK GOLD BROUGHT IN NEW WHITE NEIGHBORS WHO BUILT THEIR OWN SCHOOL DISTRICT CALLED NEW LIMA.

BLACK STUDENTS WOULD ATTEND THE ROSENWALD SCHOOL JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM THE NEW LIMA DISTRICT.

>> WENT FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE, AND AFTER THAT THEY WENT TO DOUGLAS AND WEWOKA, AND THEN THEIR INTEGRATION CAME AND WE STARTED GOING TO NEW LIMA.

IT WAS 1957 WHEN THE LIMA AND NEW LIMA STUDENTS WERE INTEGRATED.

>> JUST LIKE OIL IS IMPORTANT TO OKLAHOMA AND ITS TOWNS, SO IS AGRICULTURE.

>> GROWING UP OUT HERE, DOING A LOT OF FARMING WITH MY DAD AND OTHER COUSINS AND STUFF.

I CAN REMEMBER BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE DOING FARMWORK, AND YOU CAN HEAR ALL THE KIDS PLAYING IN THE STREETS.

>> FARMING HISTORY WAS MADE IN LIMA WITH THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST BLACK FARMER'S UNION IN THE 1920S.

>> IT WAS THE FIRST ONE IN THE NATIONAL FARMERS UNION, AND THE FIRST ONE ANYWHERE THAT WE KNOW OF, ALL AROUND THE WORLD WHERE THE FARMERS ORGANIZED.

>> THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FARMERS' UNION AND HIS VISION OF INCLUDING PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE UNION.

>> IN THE 1920S, WE HAD A PRESIDENT BY THE NAME OF JOHN SIMPSON.

JOHN SIMPSON WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE.

HE WANTED TO EXPAND THE COOPERATIVE MODEL OF THE FARMER'S UNION.

AND SO -- AND ALSO WANTED TO EXPAND TO OTHER LOCALS, CREATE OTHER LOCALS, OTHER COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS.

AND SO HE DID THAT.

HE ALSO LOOKED TO -- IN TERMS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR, WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE REPRESENTED AS WELL.

>> AT THE SAME TIME, THE OTHER FARMERS OF COLOR AROUND SEMINOLE COUNTY FORMED THEIR OWN FARMER'S UNION LOCALS IN AUGUST OF 1921, WHICH WAS CELEBRATED BY JOHN SIMPSON IN A NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL A MONTH LATER.

>> AUGUST 5TH, WE WERE INVITED BY THOSE LOCALS OF SEMINOLE COUNTY TO COME TO A BASKET DINNER PICNIC AT THE JOHNSON SCHOOLHOUSE FIVE MILES NORTH OF WEWOKA FOR THE PURPOSE OF ORGANIZING A COLORED COUNTY UNION.

WE WERE THERE, AND THE COLORED FOLKS WERE THERE AS WELL.

IT WAS A GREAT MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL THE WORLD.

A COUNTY OF ORGANIZED FARMERS LIKE THIS MET AND FORMED A COUNTY UNION.

THESE FOLKS HAD LABORED HARD TO MAKE THIS MEETING A SUCCESS.

A SPLENDID DINNER HAD BEEN PREPARED BY THE GOOD WOMEN OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE MEN HAD BARBECUED A BEEF, WHICH FURNISHED AS AS GOOD A DINNER AS WE EVER SAW ON OCCASION OF THIS KIND.

>> DESPITE THE HISTORY OF LIMA, THE TOWN IS ON THE VERGE ACCORDING TO THOSE WHO REMAIN.

>> SO PEOPLE MOVING AWAY BECAUSE OF THE POINT IS THERE'S NO JOBS AROUND HERE.

AND AS THE KIDS GREW UP AND WENT TO SCHOOL AT DIFFERENT PLACES AND STUFF, ONCE THEY MOVE AWAY AND GET A JOB, THEY DIDN'T COME BACK.

>> YOU KNOW WHAT?

IF YOU DON'T GET SOME TYPE OF INDUSTRY, A JOB MARKET OR SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN GO TO SEMINOLE OR WEWOKA AND MAKE A LIVING, THE TOWN IS GOING TO LITERALLY DIE, SLOWLY DIE.

>> I'D LIKE TO SEE IT GROW, YOU KNOW, GET BACK.

BUT IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO DO, 'CAUSE I SAID ALL THE OLDER PEOPLE ARE GONE, AND EVEN YOUNGER PEOPLE DON'T MOVE OUT, 'CAUSE THERE NOTHING TO DO.

THERE NO JOBS OR NOTHING.

SO THEY HAVE TO MOVE ON.

CENSUS NUMBERS SHOW THAT IN 1920 NEARLY 150 PEOPLE LIVED IN THE LIMA AREA.

THE TOWN POPULATION GREW THROUGH THE DECADES UNTIL IT REACHED ITS PEAK IN THE 1980S AT AROUND 250 PEOPLE.

IN THE 2020 CENSUS, LIMA RECORDED 68 RESIDENTS.

MAYOR LOUIE IS LOOKING TO CHANGE THAT FOR LIMA.

>> I WOULD LIKE TO SEE GROWTH.

YOU KNOW, PUT SOME HOUSING IN HERE AND GET SOME SPIRITED PEOPLE HERE.

>> SO, MAYOR, YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF TRYING TO BRING BACK AN OLD TRADITION, RIGHT?

>> YES.

FOUNDER'S DAY, WHICH WE CALL LIMA DAY.

SO APRIL 8TH IS THE DAY, BUT WE KIND OF WORK AROUND THE WEEKENDS OR WHATEVER THAT SO WE CAN PUT THE DAY ON.

MAYOR LOUIE WORKED WITH OTHER TO KICK OFF LIMA DAY IN 2023.

THE EVENT WAS ONE WAY THE MAYOR IS TRYING TO RAISE FUNDS TO HELP WITH THE TOWN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

>> WE HAVE A LIMA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND SET UP.

>> TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, WHAT THE LIME A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND IS SET UP TO HELP SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ROSENWALD AND THE WHOLE TOWN.

>> OH, FOR THE WHOLE TOWN.

>> ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEMBER MYRON LOUIE BELIEVES, WITH ENOUGH INVESTMENT, LIMA CAN ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE TRYING TO FIND A QUIET, RURAL PLACE TO LIVE.

>> WE'RE TAKING ON A LOT OF STUFF.

LIKE, WE ARE TRYING TO GET ON, LIKE, A SMALL FIRE DEPARTMENT OUT HERE YOU KNOW, FOR THE RURAL AREA.

WE TRYING TO COME UP WITH PLANS OR, LIKE, HAVE A SMALL STORE HERE.

>> I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO COME DOWN THROUGH HERE, CHECK IT OUT, SEE WHAT YOU LIKE.

IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW.

IT'S A LOT OF ROOM AROUND HERE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CLEAR UP AND GET THINGS GOING SO THAT WE CAN BRING MORE PEOPLE IN HERE.

>> AND WE WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT ALL OF OUR REPORTS ON THE BLACK FRONTIER TOWNS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.

JUST GO TO OETA.TV, AND LOOK FOR THE OKLAHOMA NEWS REPORT ICON.