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Home , Arkansas Territory, Brainerd Mission, Central Arkansas, Cherokee removal, Cyrus Kingsbury, History of Arkansas

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A historical synopsis prepared for the Arkansas State Racing Commission.

John Jolly - first elected Chief of the OPERATED BY: in Arkansas in 1824.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum LegendsArkansas.com

For additional information on CNB’s cultural tourism program, go to VisitCherokeeNation.com THE CROSSING OF PATHS TIMELINE OF CHEROKEES IN ARKANSAS

Late 1780s: Some Cherokees began to spend winters hunting near the St. Francis, White, and Arkansas Rivers, an area then known as “Spanish .” According to Spanish colonial records, Cherokees traded furs with the Spanish at the . Late 1790s: A small group of Cherokees relocated to the New Madrid settlement. Early 1800s: Cherokees continued to immigrate to the Arkansas and White River valleys. 1805: John B. Treat opened a trading post at Spadra Bluff to serve the incoming Cherokees. 1808: The Osage ceded some of their hunting lands between the Arkansas and White Rivers in the Treaty of Fort Clark. This increased tension between the Osage and Cherokee. 1810: Tahlonteeskee and approximately 1,200 Cherokees arrived to this area. 1811-1812: The New Madrid earthquake destroyed villages along the St. Francis River. Cherokees living there were forced to move further west to join those living between AS HISTORICAL AND MODERN NEIGHBORS, CHEROKEE the Arkansas and White Rivers. Tahlonteeskee settled along Bayou, near NATION AND ARKANSAS SHARE A DEEP HISTORY AND present-day Russellville. The Arkansas Cherokee petitioned the U.S. government CONNECTION WITH ONE ANOTHER. for an . 1813: William Lewis Lovely was appointed as agent and he set up his post on BUSINESSES RESPECTS AND WILL Illinois Bayou. CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THAT STRONG PARTNERSHIP 1816: Lovely negotiated an Osage land cession benefitting the Cherokee (aka FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME. “Lovely’s Purchase”). This exacerbated tensions between the Osage and the Cherokee. 1817: Hostilities between the Osage and Cherokee result in the Battle of Clermount/ Claremore Mound/Strawberry Moon. This led to the establishment of Forts Smith and Gibson. Hostilities continued until the mid-1820s. 1817: The Treaty of the Cherokee Agency was signed by Cherokee leaders in both the east and west. Including the western leaders was the first formal recognition of the The 1997 dedication of Western Cherokee. This treaty also created a “Cherokee Reservation” in Arkansas that “Cherokee Crossing” in included what is now Pope County. Russellville, AR. The marker memorializes Cherokees 1821: Dwight Mission was established near present-day Russellville. who called the River Valley 1824: The Western Cherokee formally organized their government. Around home. (left to right) former Cherokee Nation Principal this time, immigrated to Arkansas and established a salt spring near Chief Joe Byrd, President present-day Scottsville (Pope County). of the Russellville Area Ministerial Association 1828: A treaty with the U.S. government ceded the Western Cherokees’ land in Steve Galbo, Miss Cherokee Arkansas for land in what is now . Lindsay and 1838-1839: Cherokees (and members of other tribes) traveled through this area during Cherokee Nation Deputy Chief James Garland Eagle. forced removal from their eastern homelands. There was a water route that traveled the . 1 2 CHEROKEES IN ARKANSAS EARLY CHEROKEE

Cherokees migrated from their southeastern homelands to areas of present-day MIGRATIONS TO ARKANSAS Arkansas as early as the mid-to-late 1700s. By the early 1800s, between 2-4,000 Cherokees were living in the , near the St. Francis River in In 1788, a group of Cherokees under the leadership of Cherokee headman northeast Arkansas and along the Illinois Bayou and Arkansas River in what is Toquo received permission from the Spanish government to settle in what now Pope County. In 1821, Dwight Mission was established on the west bank was then Spanish Territory. Many of these settlements were initially located of the Illinois Bayou. In 1828, the Western Cherokees, or “Old Settlers,” signed along the St. Francis and White Rivers but some did continue further west a treaty with the U.S. government ceding their land in Arkansas for lands in along the Arkansas River. Following the , what is now Oklahoma. and were sent to explore the new land acquisition. In 1804, Lewis Throughout the next two centuries, Cherokee Nation’s history continued to reported that there were two Cherokee towns on the St. Francis River. In 1805, be intertwined with the : from the Cherokees who traveled a trading post at Spadra Bluff (near present-day Clarksville) was established to through Arkansas on their journey to on what became known serve the incoming Cherokees. In 1808, the Osage ceded some of their hunting as the to Fort Smith, which held legal jurisdiction over federal territory located between the Arkansas and White Rivers in the Treaty of Fort crimes in Indian Territory throughout much of the . Clark. This land was then occupied by the Cherokee, causing friction Cherokee Nation holds great reverence for historic sites in present-day between the tribes. Arkansas. These sites are often included on motor coach tours that travel through Arkansas on the way to Cherokee, , retracing the In 1810, several prominent Cherokees Trail of Tears. led larger emigrant parties to the area. This included leaders such as Duwali (the Bowl), Tahlonteeskee, and Takatoka. A series of earthquakes rattled the region beginning in December 1811 and the Cherokees moved their settlements further west, to an area just north of the Arkansas River. Tahlonteeskee himself settled along the Illinois Bayou, near present-day Russellville. It was during this time that the

Duwali, also known as “The Bowl” or John Bowles “Western Cherokees” requested an Indian Agent from the Image courtesy of the State Library and Archives Commission U.S. government. By 1813 a large number of Cherokees were living west of the . Estimates of the number of Cherokee residing Map of the Trail of in Arkansas range from 2,000-4,000. The majority of these Cherokee settlements Tears portion of the were on the White and Arkansas Rivers. The Cherokees set up a political Arkansas Heritage Trails System organization independent of their eastern brethren and called their group the

Image courtesy of “Cherokee Nation West.” Today, this group is called the Western Cherokee, or the Arkansas Historic Old Settlers. Preservation Program

3 4 William Lewis Lovely was appointed as the area’s first Indian Agent in 1813. This was the first step in recognizing the Western Cherokee as a separate entirety. SEQUOYAH Lovely established his post on the Illinois Bayou and worked to bring peace between the area’s Osage and Cherokee residents. In 1816, Lovely negotiated Famed Cherokee diplomat and scholar Sequoyah moved to Arkansas sometime an Osage land cession (“Lovely’s Purchase”) that would create a 7-million-acre between 1820-1824. He settled along the Illinois Bayou, where he operated a buffer zone between the tribes. Hostilities remained and the Osage killed a war salt-making business. party of about 100 Cherokees the same year. A coalition of Cherokee and other Sequoyah was born in approximately 1765 in the lower Appalachian region tribes affected by Osage hostility gathered at the Cherokee Agency on the of . He operated a popular trading post and was known as a skilled Illinois Bayou to plan an attack on Osage Chief Clermont’s village. In October blacksmith and silversmith. 1817, about 600-700 Cherokee, , Delaware, and warriors traveled west to fight the Osage in what would later be known as the Battle of Around 1809, Sequoyah began to study the syntax and structure of the Cherokee the Strawberry Moon, or the Battle of Claremore Mound. These hostilities led to language, a project he worked on for twelve years. The interrupted his the eventual founding of Forts Smith and Gibson. plans, and he volunteered to fight. After his second term of enlistment ended, he married Sallie Waters and their On July 8, 1817, a treaty was signed in the eastern family spent time in before settling in Arkansas Cherokee Nation that ceded eastern land for around 1820-1824. Sequoyah once again began to study lands in present-day Arkansas. As many as 4,000 the language. His first attempts were to make a symbol Cherokees planned to move to Arkansas as a result for each word, but that quickly became too much of of this treaty. This included parties under leaders an undertaking. He became more selective and began and Walter Webber. The parties and listening more intently to the individual sounds of the their families organized into traditional “towns,” language. Sequoyah realized there were distinct syllables spread out along tributaries from the north used to make up words in the . He side of the Arkansas River, places such as Galla created symbols to match the syllables then used them Creek, Illinois Bayou, Piney Creek, Spadra Creek, Sequoyah, also known as in various combinations to form words. Horsehead Creek, and Mulberry River, as well as George Guess or Gist. Image In 1821, Sequoyah returned from his new home in Dutch Creek and Spring Creek south of the river. courtesy of the Smithsonian Arkansas to the eastern homelands of the Cherokees John Jolly, also known as Col- On September 11, 1824, the Western Cherokee National Portrait Gallery to teach his written language. Only a year after its lee or Jol-lee. Image courtesy formally organized their government along of the Smithsonian American introduction, 90% of the Cherokee people could read democratic lines. Executive power was vested in Art Museum and write the syllabary because it was so logical to the native speaker. This rate of a first, second and third chief. John Jolly became was unheard of at that time, or even today. Sequoyah was rewarded for his the first elected chief, Black Coat the second, achievement with a silver medal in 1824 from the General Council of the Cherokee and Walter Webber the third. This tiered chiefdom was necessary due to the Nation. Sequoyah would go down in history as the only person to singlehandedly ongoing war with the Osage tribe, whose original lands were now occupied develop a written language without first being literate. by the Cherokees. Sequoyah’s syllabary enabled the Cherokees to communicate in a more widespread The number of white settlers moving west increased and they began and permanent fashion during a very serious moment in their history. They began encroaching upon the Arkansas Cherokee lands. In December 1827, a publishing a newspaper, The , in 1828; it was printed in both English Cherokee delegation of seven men went to Washington, D.C. to protest and Cherokee. It was the first bilingual, native newspaper in the . the intrusion. They had no authority to cede lands, however, they were forced to negotiate a treaty in May 1828 where they ceded their lands in In 1828, Sequoyah joined a group of Western Cherokee leaders in Washington to Arkansas for lands in Indian Territory. The treaty ended a significant chapter discuss a new treaty with the U.S. government. A treaty was signed that exchanged of the Cherokees’ time in Arkansas, but their imprint on the state remains all lands held by the Cherokee in Arkansas for land in Indian Territory. In 1829, through the land’s place on the Trail of Tears as well as their participation in Sequoyah settled near present-day Sallisaw, Oklahoma and he lived at the site the Civil War. for several years. In 1842, determined to research a band of Cherokees that had moved into Mexican territory, Sequoyah traveled to the Southwest and into to find this lost band in 1842. He died on his travels; his burial place is unknown and thus unmarked.

5 6 DWIGHT MISSION THE TRAIL OF TEARS

Part of the missionary effort of the American Board of Commissioners for THROUGH ARKANSAS Foreign Missions (ABCFM), Dwight Mission was an evangelistic venture and an offshoot of work being done among the Cherokees in the American South Pressure continued to mount in the east for the remaining Cherokee to move before removal. Congregationalist ministers and west. By the time the Act was passed in 1830, the Western had been sent by the ABCFM in 1817 to establish for the Cherokee had left Arkansas and resettled in Indian Territory. The brought Cherokees in present-day Tennessee. about rapid change for the Cherokees still living in the east. “Indian Removal” was a highly debated topic, even after the act’s passage.

A sketch of Dwight Mission, ca. 1824. Image courtesy of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Library System

When many Cherokees moved west of the , Congregationalist missionaries Rev. Cephas Washburn, Rev. Alfred Finney and other men went also. In late August 1820, the group chose a site on the Illinois Bayou, built a log building, and established Dwight Mission, named after Rev. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale University and an early member of the ABCFM. The ’s school opened in 1822. The Cherokee response to the mission was enthusiastic A sketch of Dwight Mission, ca. 1824. Image courtesy of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central enough that at least one branch mission, Mulberry Mission, later opened. Arkansas Library System The Dwight Mission was not only a school and church. It was a full community with a sawmill, gristmill, gardens, and The Treaty of was signed on December 29, 1835, and although the residences. The former Dwight Mission was the site of Pope Cherokees who signed the treaty held no such authority, the treaty was recognized County’s first blacksmith shop, post office, ferry, school, and and ratified by the U.S. government. The treaty ceded all remaining Cherokee doctor’s office. The mission community eventually grew to lands in the east for lands in Indian Territory. Prominent Cherokees such as Elias include some 36 structures and served about 60 children Boudinot, Andrew Ross, and his son were among those when it closed in 1829. At that time, Dwight Mission, and its who signed. Principal Chief John Ross, the council, and a majority of Cherokees Mulberry branch, moved to present-day Oklahoma as the did not support this treaty and put together a petition in 1836. The petition was tribe ceded land under the treaty of 1828. Dwight Mission ineffective and removal was imminent. It is estimated that as many as 12,000- was reestablished near present-day Vian and the Mulberry 16,000 Cherokees removed to Indian Territory in what would become known as Mission was reestablished as the Fairfield Mission near the Trail of Tears. A majority of groups made the grim journey between 1838-1839, present-day Stilwell. The original Dwight Mission site is now and thousands of Cherokees died on the way to Indian Territory. Groups traveled marked by a sign on Highway 64 at a boat ramp to Lake various land routes and at least one water route but all groups passed through Dardanelle, which covered the site when it was created. Historic marker at site of Arkansas, a majority crossing the entire state on their journey. Although no buildings remain, the cemetery location is still original Dwight Mission in on a hill overlooking the site. Arkansas. Image courtesy of the Arkansas State Archives 7 8 Many detachments ultimately traveled by both land and water. Most Cherokee detachments that traveled over land followed similar routes across northwestern QUATIE ROSS Arkansas, entering the state near Pea Ridge and then Indian Territory near Fayetteville. In 1987, this “Northern Route” was formally recognized by Congress In the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas, is the Mount Holly Cemetery – the final resting as the land route of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. A separate Cherokee place of former governors, Supreme Court justices, military heroes and many other detachment, under John Benge, followed a route across north-central Arkansas, historical figures. Included among these is Elizabeth “Quatie” Brown Henley Ross, entering Arkansas at the Current River and then Indian Territory via Fayetteville. the first wife of Cherokee Nation Principal Chief John Ross.

The Cherokees.–The steam boat Victoria arrived here on Saturday last, having on board 228 Cherokees, the last of the nation to be removed from the east of the Mississippi. They are mostly those who had been prevented by sickness from emigrating by land, with the main body of the nation. Some few are still scattered in the mountains of North Carolina, resisting all persuasions to join their brethren in their exodus from their fatherland. Among those on board the Victoria were John Ross and his family. Mr. Ross’ wife, we regret to state, died shortly before reaching Little Rock, and was buried in the cemetery of this city. | February 6, 1839

During the forced removal of the Cherokee people, Quatie and John Ross began their journey west on Dec. 5, 1838, in a detachment of 231 Cherokees aboard the steamboat Victoria, which was owned by John Ross. Their detachment, led by John Drew, was the last detachment of Cherokees to leave their eastern homelands. routes on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail System, According to an article published in the Arkansas Gazette on February 6, 1839, Image courtesy of the Quatie died on the steamboat on February 1, 1839. She had contracted and died shortly before reaching Little Yet another group, under John Bell, used the military roads that cross Arkansas, Rock. She was buried in the city cemetery where William connecting Memphis, Little Rock, and Fort Smith. Those traveling by water Woodruff, the founder of the Arkansas Gazette, and a group followed the Tennessee, , Mississippi, and Arkansas Rivers. Principal of local businessmen placed a headstone for “Elizabeth Ross” Chief John Ross and his wife Quatie took this route on the steamboat Victoria. in 1839. In 1843, the Mount Holly Cemetery was founded, and Quatie tragically died shortly before reaching Little Rock and was buried in a those who had been buried at the city cemetery, like Quatie, cemetery there. were reinterred at Mount Holly. It is not clear why her original Today, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail includes sites across 5,043 headstone was not placed at the site of her second burial. In miles and located in nine states. There are many significant sites located 1935, the General Chapter of the United States in Arkansas. The National Park Service certified five Arkansas State Parks as Daughters of 1812 installed a replacement headstone to mark sites with significant importance along the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Quatie’s final resting place. It was not until 1996, during an excavation of the Mount Holly Cemetery receiving house, that a portion of the original A replica of Quatie Ross’s marker was found. Since then, a reproduction of Quatie’s original headstone. The original is housed in the original headstone has been placed next to the monument Historic Arkansas Museum. left by the Daughters of 1812, and what remains of the Image courtesy of the original is on permanent display at the Historic Arkansas Historic Arkansas Museum 9 Museum in Little Rock. 10