A history of Vernon,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Vernon from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Vernon was platted October 4, 1910, and established in June 1911 as an all-black community. It became an incorporated town in 2005 and is one of the thirteen remaining All Black towns of Oklahoma. It was named for Bishop William Tecumseh Vernon of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Vernon’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewNegro farmers at soil conservatio…, 1940: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Vernon
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Vernon, decade by decade
LOCNegro farmers at soil conservation meeting at Vernon, Oklah…1940
LOCNegro farmer at soil conservation meeting at Vernon, Oklaho…1940
LOCNegro farmer at soil conservation meeting at Vernon, Oklaho…1940
LOCMeeting of Negro farmers for soil conservation talks and pl…1940
LOCSong director conducting singing of Negro spiritual at soil…1940
LOCDistrict soil conservation supervisor illustrating soil con…19401990s
2 historic places in Vernon
2 places in Vernon are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Negro farmers at soil conservation meeting at Vernon, Oklahoma (1940) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.