Bromide was founded by Judge William H. Jackson, a former superintendent of the nearby Wapanucka Academy, who recognized the site near several mineral springs as a potential tourist attraction.

[6] The name "Bromide" was chosen because of the high content of bromine in the mineral water.

The Chickasaws called these Oka-Alichi (Medicine Water) or Hopi Kuli (Salt Springs), and believed that the waters had medicinal power, especially for "rheumatism, diseases of the stomach, kidney and bladder ailments, [and] nerve and skin problems".

[6] The first large business in Bromide was a limestone quarry, established by Robert Galbreath Jr., a Tulsa businessman.

[5] Manganese (chemical symbol: Mn) ore was discovered in the vicinity of Bromide in 1890.

However, during World War I, steel producers began accepting ores as low as 35 percent Mn.

The USGS report said that about 5,000 tons of ore containing 35 to 40 percent Mn could be produced from the Bromide area deposits.

[8] Oilman Robert Galbreath evidently thought this could become sufficiently profitable to be a worthwhile investment.

The nearby Wapanucka Academy site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NR72001065).

According to the United States Census Bureau, Bromide has an area of 0.58 square miles (1.5 km2), all land.