The area that would become Oakley was settled in the 1870s and 1880s by people on the Smoky Hill Trail. Oakley was created in 1884 by Judge Fredman and David D. Hoag. It was first named Carlyle. Its name was changed to Cleveland. The name changed again to Oakley in 1885. It was named after Hoag's mother, Elizabeth Oakley Gardner Hoag.