Tullahassee Visitor Center & Civil Rights Trail
Preserving the history, stories, and legacy of Oklahoma’s oldest historic All-Black town.
About the Project
The Tullahassee Visitor Center and Civil Rights Trail project is part of an ongoing effort to preserve, interpret, and share the history of Tullahassee, Oklahoma. As Oklahoma’s oldest historic All-Black town, Tullahassee carries a story of education, resilience, faith, family, and community strength.
Through this project, the Tullahassee Wildcats Foundation is helping create a welcoming place where residents, students, visitors, and future generations can learn about the people, institutions, and events that shaped the town’s legacy.
Why Tullahassee Matters
Tullahassee’s history is deeply connected to Black education, self-determination, civic life, and community pride. Generations of families built lives here, attended school here, worshiped here, played here, and worked together to sustain the town through changing times.
The Civil Rights Trail project helps ensure that this history is not lost. It creates a public pathway for storytelling, preservation, education, and cultural tourism.
Visitor Center
The building will serve as a starting point for learning about Tullahassee’s history and the Civil Rights Trail. The space is being prepared to provide historical information, visitor materials, digital resources, and future access to community stories and archival materials.
John Ford Community Center
The John Ford Community Center stands as an important part of Tullahassee’s current revitalization. Formerly the old school gym, the building has been restored as a gathering place for youth programs, community events, sports, meetings, and cultural activities.
Together, the Visitor Center, Civil Rights Trail, and John Ford Community Center reflect a broader effort to honor the past while building useful spaces for the future.
Historical Archives and Oral History
The Foundation is working alongside Town leadership and community partners to preserve available historical materials, including scanned yearbook images, community photographs, renovation photos, and video documentation.
Future oral history efforts are planned in coordination with Town leadership, elders, and community partners so that the voices and memories of Tullahassee residents can continue to guide how the town’s story is told.
Project Gallery
The Tullahassee Visitor Center and Civil Rights Trail project is substantially complete, with final closeout items underway. Current work includes final setup of visitor technology, placement of signage, brochure and visitor material production, website updates, and completion of the gravel parking area.
To learn more about the Tullahassee Visitor Center, Civil Rights Trail, or the ongoing revitalization work of the Tullahassee Wildcats Foundation, please contact us or follow our updates online.Funding Acknowledgment
Funding for this project has been provided by the Oklahoma Historical Society through the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail Grant Program.