Press Release
December 18, 2023
Contact: Matthew Pearce, Ph.D.
State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-4479
matthew.pearce@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org/shpo
Abe Lincoln Trading Company Added to the National Register of Historic Places
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) are pleased to announce the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designation for the following property in Oklahoma. The National Register of Historic Places is our nation’s official list of properties significant in our past.
Okfuskee County
Abe Lincoln Trading Company
North side of Main St. and 175 feet west of Clearview Rd., Clearview
Constructed c. 1903, the Abe Lincoln Trading Company was the main office of the Lincoln Townsite Company, which planned and developed the All-Black community of Clearview. The company sold groceries and building materials to townspeople and surrounding farm families. The building was pivotal for the establishment of the town; for several decades thereafter, various owners and tenants conducted business from the property to the benefit of Clearview. The Abe Lincoln Trading Company retains several character-defining features associated with early 20th-century commercial buildings, including a rectangular form, stone exterior walls with no ornamentation and a modest storefront with original fenestration. Such integrity enables the Abe Lincoln Trading Company to convey significance as a rare, surviving example of a commercial building associated with the All-Black towns movement in Oklahoma.
Funding for the Abe Lincoln Trading Company nomination was provided by an Underrepresented Communities Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service. This program works to diversify the National Register of Historic Places by funding surveys and National Register nominations of properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register.
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The SHPO identifies, evaluates and nominates properties for this special designation.
The State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
###
