Prior to the community's foundation, the land was located on the upper line of territory granted by the 1805
Treaty of Mount Dexter, in which the
Choctaws ceded land to the United States.
Foundation and growth In 1906, the
New Orleans Great Northern Railroad started laying tracks from Monticello into northeastern Lawrence County. That same year, Homer E. Little of nearby
Rockport built a general store near the proposed location of the train depot. Newly married, Little named the community "Oma" after his bride, Naomi, who went by the name of Oma. Little's father in law, John B. Moore, was an early partner in the general store and was a co-founder of the community. The community garnered the nickname "the Little hamlet of Oma," after the founding Little family. Locals pronounce the name as "Omer." A passenger train made its first ever scheduled stop in Oma in 1909, A post office began operating in Oma in 1910, with the community's
Baptist church constructed around the same year. The church was built in the
Gothic architecture style that was commonplace for churches in the area at the time. The Little General Store closed in February 1982. The following year, the Bahala Creek Bridge was listed on the National Register for its architectural significance. The
Pratt truss bridge represented a common style of bridges built in the 20th century in Mississippi. ==Education==