Rentiesville is a town in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. It was founded in 1903 and named for William Rentie, a local landowner. It was one of 50 all-black towns in Oklahoma and is one of 13 that still survive. The population was 103 at the 2020 census,
History
The Civil War Battle of Honey Springs was fought about a half mile east of present-day Rentiesville and south of Oktaha, near the county line; the Honey Springs Battlefield, now within the Rentiesville town limits, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Honey Springs was Oklahoma's largest Civil War engagement.
Rentiesville was founded as an all-black town in 1903 on land owned by William Rentie and Phoebe McIntosh. The post office opened May 11, 1904, and the town became a flag stop on the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. William Rentie was the town's only lawman until 1908, when he was shot and killed by a man he had arrested for being drunk and disorderly.
Geography
Rentiesville is located in northeastern McIntosh County, north-northeast of Checotah and a short distance east of U.S. Route 69.
The Honey Springs Battlefield is less than a mile northeast of the center of town, off 11th Street.
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| align-fn = center
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Rentiesville town, Oklahoma – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|28
|40
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17
|27.45%
|31.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |16.50%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|66
|64
|style='background: #ffffe6; |52
|64.71%
|50.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |50.49%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|5
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9
|4.90%
|6.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.74%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.97%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|3
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13
|2.94%
|9.38%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12.62%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|0
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11
|0.00%
|3.13%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.68%
|-
|Total
|102
|128
|style='background: #ffffe6; |103
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Rentiesville had a population of 103. The median age was 50.5 years. 17.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 106.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.5 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 47 households in Rentiesville, of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.2% were married-couple households, 23.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. was born in Rentiesville. His father, B. C. Franklin, served as the second postmaster of the town.
See also
- Boley, Brooksville, Clearview, Grayson, Langston, Lima, Redbird, Summit, Taft, Tatums, Tullahassee, and Vernon, other "All-Black" settlements that were part of the Land Run of 1889.