In 1913, 11-year-old Sarah Rector’s unwanted Oklahoma land turned into an oil fortune

In the summer of 1913, Sarah Rector was 11 when oil was struck on her land allotment in the cotton fields around Taft, Oklahoma, when her life changed completely. Born into a family descended from formerly enslaved Creek Freedmen, young Sarah had grown up amidst the oppressive realities of Jim Crow America, an era during which black families were highly restricted in terms of opportunities.According to reports, Sarah and her family lived in difficult circumstances and were unable to pay their taxes on the land they owned. As reported by the Washington Post, historians noted that much of the better land was reserved for white settlers and wealthier tribal members.Sarah was granted approximately 160 acres of land in Creek County, though it was largely barren and unsuitable for farming, rendering it 'worthless'. To alleviate the family's property tax burden, her father, Joseph Rector, tried to sell it to ease the tax burden, but restrictions prevented the sale. However, with no buyers, he simply leased the land to an oil company.The oil strike that transformed her lifeEverything changed on August 29, 1913.According to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and other historical sources, a new well drilled on the property belonging to Sarah became an erupting gusher yielding around 2,500 barrels of oil daily. The output soon grew dramatically within months because of other wells. With the royalty payments, Sarah quickly accumulated wealth overnight, making newspapers claim that she was richer than the President of the United States. Soon, newspapers in America were talking about "the richest black girl in the world".Life for the Rectors was never to be the same again. They upgraded their humble abode from a small cabin to a bigger house, went by horse carriage to school, and enjoyed amenities such as piano music and elegant clothes.Fame brought danger and exploitationFrom the reports, newspapers sensationalised Sarah's life with racial remarks and stereotyping. She was supposedly receiving marriage proposals and financial donations from all over the world, even at a very young age. Records documented imply that there were fears amongst black families of exploitation from such guardians.There was so much public concern about Sarah’s welfare that leading black intellectuals such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were interested in Sarah’s case. Reports indicate that investigations were conducted to determine the actual motives behind the system to protect Sarah.Later on, she attended the prestigious Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, with the help of Booker T. Washington, before he died. A fortune shaped by resilienceDespite constant public fascination, Sarah managed her money very well and became a successful investor. History shows that she owned several companies and lands in Oklahoma and Missouri. She then relocated to Kansas City with her family and became famous for entertaining various African-American celebrities such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.Despite losing most of her fortune during the Great Depression, scholars have found that Sarah Rector maintained her stability until her death.Her life is among the most fascinating stories about wealth and race in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. The story of a piece of land that everyone believed was worthless turned out to be the epitome of prosperity and racial discrimination.