Sarah Rector was born in 1902 as the daughter of freed slaves. Her family lived in a modest two-room cabin in the all-black town of Taft, Oklahoma and worked as farmers and agricultural laborers.
At age 10, Rector received a 160-acre land allotment as part of the Dawes Allotment Act. This land was initially deemed worthless – the plots given to black residents tended to have poor soil and high taxes.
However, oil was discovered on Rector’s land in 1913. A single gusher produced 2,500 barrels of oil per day, instantly making the young girl incredibly wealthy.
Estimates indicated Rector would earn over $300 per day from this first well alone – the equivalent of $7,000-$8,000 today. For comparison, this was double the annual salary of the President of the United States at that time.
Newspapers across the country shared sensationalized headlines about Rector’s “rags to riches” story. Many dubbed her offensive nicknames like “the little negro heiress” and fixated on her race rather than her accomplishments.
Protecting Her Fortune Against Greedy Overseers
Rector faced immense racism and scrutiny as her fortune grew. As a black minor, she was forced to have a white male guardian handle her estate. This guardian took an unusually high 2% commission and leveraged Rector’s money to provide predatory loans for his own profit.
Concerned by mismanagement, the NAACP tried intervening but was blocked by Jim Crow laws favoring white bureaucrats. At age 16, Rector boldly petitioned to appoint her father as a guardian instead. Though blocked again, she continued strategizing to regain control.
On her 18th birthday, Rector shrewdly announced she was signing over her fortune to new trustees to avoid “evil spirits” seizing control. This tricked her greedy guardians into relinquishing power back to her. With clever maneuvers like this, Rector outplayed those trying to take advantage of a young black heiress.
An Established Real Estate Mogul and Investor
By age 20, Rector had full control of her million-dollar fortune. She funded her siblings’ educations and became an adept investor and real estate developer across multiple states.
One particular point of pride was Rector’s ownership of the Fike Building in Muskogee, OK – an impressive two-story, city-block-spanning structure previously closed off to black entrepreneurs. This stood as a testament to Rector’s business savvy and determination in the face of immense prejudice.
Though Rector lost much of her wealth during the Great Depression, her rags-to-riches story remains a remarkable piece of history. This young black pioneer paved the way for future generations through her unrelenting grit and intelligence.
