In the Jim Crow era, South Guthrie was the African-American community associated with the white city of Guthrie, with the state line forming a dividing line between the races.

[1] The community of Guthrie was established in 1868 and experienced early growth after a railroad junction was completed in 1870.

[1] In the early decades of the 20th century, residents of South Guthrie found industrial employment in a broom factory and a plant that made railroad ties.

South Guthrie also had a small middle class of African-American professionals and benefited economically from African-American tobacco farmers in the surrounding "Black Patch" region.

[3] The Guildfield Missionary Baptist Church, also built in 1922, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.