Park Trill, a small town, located on the railroad five miles south of Tahlequah, is noted principally for its connection with the history of the Cherokee Nation. It has a bank controlled by Mr. Waddie Hudson, for many years the editor and proprietor of the Tahlequah Arrow, an old-time newspaper which is still published, and several general stores. The old Park Hill Female Seminary, which was destroyed by fire many years ago, was the leading school for girls in the Indian Territory for many years. The Cherokee Orphan Academy is located just west of Park Hill, and is now the only Indian school still in existence in that part of the country. John Ross, the noted first chief of the Cherokees, maintained a palatial residence near Park Hill for many years.
Death of John Ross
As stated elsewhere, John Ross died while on a trip to
Washington, D. C., in August, 1866, and was buried at the old home of
his second wife, near Wilmington, Del., but his body was soon taken back
to his old home and buried near Park Hill. Upon the occasion of his
burial at the latter place, his gifted nephew, William P. Ross, who
succeeded him as chief, delivered an eloquent, oration before the
Cherokee council at Tahlequah, a portion of which was as follows, taken
from the little book "The Life and Times of Hon. William P. Ross"
| "My friends : We have come to
bury the body of John Ross. We have come to pay homage to
his memory as a father, a friend, a neighbor, and the oft
chosen ruler of our nation. Upon this sacred eminence he
often followed to their last resting place departed friends.
Here where he often lingered and pondered, here in view of
that shaded streamlet and yonder picturesque hills, of that
stately edifice erected through his instrumentality for the
education of the daughters of his nation, of the church in
which he worshipped, of the blackened ruins of his home,
once the abode of peace and refinement, of domestic
happiness and enlarged hospitality. Here in the presence of
friends and kindred whom he had loved so well, and of the
people whom he served through life, and upon whom he
bestowed his dying benedictions, we commit to earth the
mortal remains of a man who long moved among his people
without a peer. Possessed of a robust constitution, a sound
and well-developed body, a vigorous mind and a will that
calmly met the perplexities of public life and successfully
battled its greatest trials, the time in which he lived and
the position which he occupied drew around him on one hand a
friendship that never faltered, and on the other hand caused
him to be assailed with a malignity without a parallel. We
claim not for John Ross exemption from error and
imperfection, but believe, that he enjoyed in an eminent
degree a power of intellect and endurance, a tenacity of
purpose and an earnestness of soul which belong only to
great men, qualities which impress themselves upon the
character of the day in which their possessors live, and
send an influence far down the stream of time. It is proper that here his dust should mingle with kindred dust, and that a suitable monument should arise, to mark the spot where repose the bones of our greatest chieftain. It will keep alive within our bosoms a spirit of patriotism. It will impart strength and hope in the hour of adversity. It will teach us to beware of domestic strife and division. It will serve to unite us more closely in peace, in concord and in devotion to the common welfare. It will soften our asperities and excite the thoughtful youth of our land to patience, to perseverance, to success and to renown." Additional Cherokee County Resources
Source: Muskogee and Northeastern Oklahoma, 1922 |
|
Cherokee County |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Oklahoma Counties |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Oklahoma Resources |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submit your Website! |