Official Name: | Beland, Oklahoma |
Settlement Type: | Ghost town |
Pushpin Map: | Oklahoma#USA |
Pushpin Label: | Beland |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Oklahoma |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Muskogee |
Established Title: | Established |
Established Date: | 1903 |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Timezone: | Central (CST) |
Utc Offset: | -6 |
Timezone Dst: | CDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
Elevation M: | 177 |
Elevation Ft: | 580 |
Coordinates: | 35.6918°N -95.5358°W |
Area Code: | 918 & 539 |
Beland is a ghost town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. Not much remains there, besides a few buildings.
In 1903, Beland (formerly Chase) was founded 8 miles southwest of Muskogee, Oklahoma as a black settlement.[1] In 1906, a wealthy African-American attorney and business man by the name of Cornelius Jones bought the entirety of Chase for $4,000 (now worth about $135,000 in today's money). Jones sponsored selling town lots in black-owned newspapers in the south. The town's name was changed to Beland in 1908, and was successful for a bit. Beland lost its post office in 1926.[2]