Chickasaw Capitol Building - Tishomingo, OK - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The marker reads:

The Chickasaw Nation tribal leaders met at Good Spring in 1855 and voted to erect a log council house on the square designated for the Chickasaw Capitol to be constructed before their convention in 1856.

The Chickasaw Government Convention was held in 1856. They had authorized the construction of a two-story brick building to be used as their Capitol Building which was finished in 1858. By the year 1894 the brick building was declared unsafe and closed and was later demolished to make way for the third Chickasaw Capitol Building.

Governor Robert Harris was active in constructing the third Chickasaw Capitol Building. Arguably it was unwise for the Chickasaws to even think about such a project, since the tribal government would last only six more years. There were several reasons this decision was made. The United States Government assured the Chickasaws that a federal district court would be established in the new building sometime after 1906; some Chickasaws did not think their tribal government would ever be abolished; and the building would serve as a monument to the Chickasaw Nation. This building was constructed out of granite from the Harris Quarry north of Tishomingo. Funding was approved for this project by the legislators and they created a committee to oversee the construction. Harris appointed William Rennie, Charles D. Carter and Robert L. Murray to be on that committee. Each man received four dollars per day for his services. C.P. Shaeffer of Denison, Texas, was the general contractor for the project. On November 8, 1897, Governor Harris signed a bill appropriating $15,000 to building the new building at Tishomingo.

The Chickasaws salvaged a tremendous amount of the brick building and lined the new building with this salvaged material. The building was steam heated and would have all the latest improvements.

A grand dedication ceremony was planned by William H. Murray. R.M. Harris donated the keystone for the entrance to the capitol with his name carved into the stone.

Governor Douglas Johnston turned over the building when Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Due to the agreement with the federal government all tribally owned buildings were vacated. The building became the Johnston County Courthouse in 1910.

The building was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, through the efforts of the Johnston County Historical & Genealogical Society.

The Chickasaw Nation regained ownership of the Capitol Building in 1992 when Johnston County built a new courthouse a block south of the granite building.

County: Johnston Record Address:: 411 W 9th St Tishomingo, OK USA 73460 Web site if available: [Web Link] Rate the Site: Sponsor (Who put it there): Tishomingo Historic Memories Trail Date Erected: Not listed

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