Cherokee Female Seminary - Park Hill
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 52.015 W 094° 57.336
15S E 323439 N 3970953
Referred to in the American Guide Oklahoma publication, the school has been gone since a fire destroyed it in 1887.
Waymark Code: WMPA3D
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/27/2015
Views: 3
"In 1851, the Cherokees established two schools of higher learning - one, a Male Seminary just southwest of Tahlequah, and the other a Female Seminary at Park Hill, approximately four miles south of Tahlequah. Both buildings were destroyed by fire - the school for boys in 1910, and the female institution in 1887..." [Page 259 - Oklahoma - A Guide to the Sooner State, 1941]
Built in 1851, the school operated until it was closed down in 1856 for shortgage of funds. Then, during the Civil War, it was used as a storage facility for the Union army. Re-opened after the war, it operated until a devastating fire on Easter morning April 10, 1887 destroyed the school. The only remaining remnant are three brick columns of the original 25 that supported the two-story porches around three sides of the building.
Today, this site is on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands in front of the Cherokee Heritage Center and is well worth a visit. The photo gallery shows photos of the school before and after the fire.
An historical marker on site reads: "ORIGINAL SITE ~ CHEROKEE FEMALE SEMINARY / 185 feet long 108 feet wide part two and three stories high. Opened May 7, 1851 - destroyed by fire April 10, 1887. These three columns from the south side of the structure are all that remain of the original building. 25 such columns encircled the east south and west sides of the building. Material were procured locally and the bricks fired in the vicinity from local clays by Cherokee craftsmen."