07/18/2025
Hello all. How is it going? It's been a while since I posted anything to this site, but since it's the community reunion and historical photo site, I wanted to share some interesting information I found about the history of Little Axe. It's going to be a fairly long post, so be patient🧐😁
Little Axe Community:
Little Axe was first settled by the Shawnee Indians in the mid 1800's. This consisted of tribal members that did not attend a treaty signing in Kansas. That is how they became known as the Absentee Shawnee. There were two bands of Shawnees that settled in this area. The White Turkey Band settled near present day Shawnee, while the Big Jim Band settled along the Deep Fork River to the north. There was a conflict over the land, so troops from Fort Reno moved the Big Jim Band to land along Little River in Cleveland County. First called the Big Jim Settlement, the name was later changed to Little Axe after (the legend has it) Mexican Billy Little Axe who had a trading store at the crossroads of present day Peebly Road & Alameda Street (old Highway 9).
The Little Axe Community grew to several stores, a school, homes, and a cotton gin before Lake Thunderbird was built in the early 1960's. The lake and dam covered part of the area, so the school was moved to its present-day location. The old school was converted into a ranger's residence inside the state park. The cafe was a building that was moved to avoid the lake flooding.
Norman annexed the area when the lake was built to control the water shed and have the entire lake inside their city limits.
Little Axe, the School District:
The Little Axe (LA) school predates statehood, but did not show up in state records until the 1920's when it went from one teacher to two. At statehood, Oklahoma followed the three mile rule, or no child should walk more than three miles to and from school. The present day LA school district at one time contained the follow schools:
Brendle School (just south of Highway 9 on 192nd), Little River School (around Imhoff & 192nd), Knoles School (Franklin & Harra-Newalla Road), Linden School (149th & Harrah-Newalla Road), Stella School (149th & Peebly), and Red Hill School (Franklin & Peebly. In addition, there was a Black School named Union School that was at 149th & Luther Road. These were all 1st-6th or 1st-8th grade schools that closed in the 1940's and 1950's. As a school closed, their students were added to an adjacent school of their choosing. LA decided in the early 1980's to become a high school, so they added a grade a year until the first senior class graduation in 1988.
The LA school district falls in mailing areas that include Norman, McLoud, Noble, Oklahoma City, & Newalla. It seems all the leftover land in Cleveland County was added to the Little Axe School District. The school district is served by at least three State Senate Districts, three State House Districts, and two US Congressional Districts.
Little Axe in the Modern World:
At various times, local groups have looked at deannexation from Norman and incorporating Little Axe into a city. Both would require permission from Norman, which is not an option.
If the Little Axe school district were a city, the population would be around 10,000, putting LA the same size at Purcell, Newcastle, & Tuttle. Certainly large enough to support a modest commercial base. The problems currently affecting the community is the zoning regulations and building codes inside the city of Norman and lack of useful commercial sites outside the city, fronting on Highway 9. The Sonic was a bold venture into the unknown at the time and sales were above projections when it first opened. This resulted in the Dollar General store being built at its current location on Highway 9 & 180th. These two stores should have resulted in other retail developments, but growth is slow in the area, especially within the city limits or Norman due to so many regulations for building. The Absentee Shawnee Tribe's Thunderbird Casino, Health Clinics, and Resource Center have provided employment opportunities and amenities to the community. The tribe's health clinic across the highway from the casino has been one of the largest construction projects, other than the lake, ever in the community.
Other unique features around the community would include bus service to Norman from the community center and other locations in the community, including the Sonic, the tribal health center, and the local convenience stores along Highway 9. There is also a Norman fire station located at the Little Axe community center on 168th just south of Highway 9 that provides coverage for the community, but there is also a volunteer fire department in the area as well.
The community center is a sub-station for the Pioneer Library system. Books can be picked up or dropped off that you ordered from the library.
Lake Thunderbird State Park is just one of many most visited parks in the state. The lake is about 6,000 acres and has hiking trails, camp sites, bicycle trails and you can bring out your boat for relaxation or fishing.
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That is all for now. Just a bit of history about Little Axe. I do not have a name for the person who wrote this information, but I do know that this is the most truthful information I have found. I showed many of the community members who remember the lake being built and history of the school and they told me they remembered a lot of this information.
So enjoy and if you have anything to add, please do so.
