Editing Tatums, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Tatums was founded in [[Indian Territory]] in 1895 by Lee and Mary Tatum, though ''Oklahoma Place Names'' states that the town was not incorporated until May 9, 1896, And a hotel was built in 1899, a blacksmith shop in 1900,a cotton gin and sawmill in 1910, and a motor garage in 1918.Oil wells were drilled in the area in the 1920s,bringing wealth to several of Tatums's farmers and landowners.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums">O'Dell, Larry. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=TATUMS "Tatums,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, Accessed May 4, 2015.</ref><ref name="OK-Place-Names">Shirk, George H. ''Oklahoma Place Names'', Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965, p.203.</ref>

At the time of its founding, Tatums was located in [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]].<ref>Charles Goins.  ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 105.</ref>

The town was one of more than fifty all-black towns founded in Oklahoma, and is one of thirteen still in existence.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> Lee Tatum was the first postmaster, ran a grocery store, and was a U.S. Marshal.<ref name="OK-Place-Names"/><ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> Travelers who came through Tatums could stay at the home of Henry Taylor, who owned the largest home in town.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> Over the next few decades, other businesses were added to the town, including a church, school, hotel, blacksmith shop, a cotton gin and sawmill, and a motor garage.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/>  In the 1920s, oil wells were drilled around Tatums, and several residents richly profited from them.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/>

A brick school funded by the [[Rosenwald Fund]] was completed in 1926.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> In 1927, [[Norman Studios]] filmed a silent movie, ''Black Gold'', in Tatums.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129789/ | title=Black Gold (1928) | publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]] | accessdate=May 9, 2012}}</ref> Marshal L. B. Tatums played a role in the film.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> No copy of the film is known to exist, but the script and camera are held by the [[Autry National Center]] in California.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/>

The [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] greatly damaged Tatums' economy, so many residents migrated to urban areas.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/> Amid the Depression, the [[Works Progress Administration]] built a new brick school in 1936.<ref name="EOHC-Tatums"/>

The [[Bethel Missionary Baptist Church]], completed in 1919, is an historic Baptist church in Tatums, and is included on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Carter County, Oklahoma|NRHP listings for Carter County]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMXK0A_Bethel_Missionary_Baptist_Church_Tatums_OK| title= Bethel Missionary Baptist Church - Tatums, OK - U.S. National Register of Historic Places| publisher= Waymarking.com| accessdate=February 14, 2020}}</ref>