Tahlequah ( ; , ) is a city in Cherokee County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

located at the foothills of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

. It is part of the

Green Country Green Country, sometimes referred to as Northeast Oklahoma, is the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which lies west of the northern half of Arkansas, the southwestern corner the way of Missouri, and south of Kansas. Alternate ...

region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as part of the new settlement in Indian Territory after the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Native Americans were forced west from the American Southeast on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

. The city's population was 15,753 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.96 percent over the figure of 14,458 reported in 2000. The 2019 estimated population is 16,819. Tahlequah is the capital of the two federally recognized Cherokee tribes based in Oklahoma, the modern

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

and the

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma ( or , abbreviated United Keetoowah Band or UKB) is a federally recognized tribe of Cherokee Native Americans headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. According to the UKB website, its memb ...

. Tahlequah is also the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Cherokee County. The main campus of

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of hig ...

is located in the city.

History

Background

Tahlonteeskee was the first established governmental capital of any kind in what was to become Oklahoma.''Sequoyah County''
Oklahoma Historical Society online; accessed April 2018''Tahlonteeskee''
photo of roadside marker klahoma Historical Society at waymarking.com; accessed November 2015. It was established in 1828—in land that was part of 1816's Lovely Donations, becoming the first Cherokee Nation–West capital city. It continued as the capital until 1839 when new arrivals from the

flooded the area. At that time, Takatoka briefly became the Nation's capital during the construction of the capitol building at Tahlequah. By mid-1840, the seat of government had been officially moved to Tahlequah. By 1842, Tahlequah was a growing community and had four stores. The town site of was surveyed in 1843, and in the same year an intertribal council attracted ten thousand participants representing 21 different tribes. In 1844 the National Hotel was built, and the newspaper ''Cherokee Advocate'' issued its first edition using a printing press installed in the brand-new Supreme Court building. The first school opened in 1845, and the Tahlequah post office opened in 1847. The Cherokee Male Seminary opened in 1851, offering higher education to Cherokee boys who had already received their primary education.Harrington, Beth. "Tahlequah." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' 2009.
Accessed November 8, 2019.

Etymology

Many linguists believe the word 'Tahlequah' (Tah-le-quah) and the word 'Teh-li-co' are the same as 'di li gwa', the Cherokee word for grain or rice. (See Cherokee Nation Lexicon (dikaneisdi) at cherokee.org under culture/language). Scholars report the Cherokee word 'di li gwa' describes a type of native grain with a red hue that grew in the flat open areas of east Tennessee. One area,

Great Tellico Great Tellico was a Cherokee town at the site of present-day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where the Tellico River emerges from the Appalachian Mountains. Great Tellico was one of the largest Cherokee towns in the region, and had a sister town nea ...

(

Tellico Plains, Tennessee Tellico Plains is a town in Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 859 at the 2000 census and 880 at the 2010 census. Tellico Plains is home to several communities that include Coker Creek, Belltown, ...

), was named for the grass with the red seed tops. Others interpret a word 'tel-i-quah' as 'plains'; however, there is no word for 'plains' in the Cherokee lexicon, and the word 'tel-i-quah' is not found in the lexicon. The idea that 'tahlequah' means 'plains' lends weight to the belief that the name refers to the wide open grassy areas of Great Tellico. Local legend states the name is derived from Cherokee words 'ta-li' and 'ye-li-quu' meaning 'just two' or 'two is enough'. Supposedly three tribal elders had planned to meet to determine the location of the Cherokee Nation's permanent capital. Two elders arrived and waited for the third. As dusk approached, they decided that 'two is enough', or 'ta-li-ye-li-quu' which later became anglicanized to Tahlequah. According to tribal elders and Cherokee County elders, this legend first began to circulate in the 1930s. Tahlequah was a settlement as early as 1832. After the Western Cherokee agreed in 1834 to let the newer migrants settle near them, they joined their government with the Eastern Cherokee at Tahlequah in 1839. Tahlequah was named long before it was chosen as the Cherokee capital.

Cherokee Nation capital

In 1839, Tahlequah was designated the capital of ancestors of both the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Initially the government buildings were a complex of log or framed structures. Most of these buildings were destroyed during the Civil War, during which the Cherokee became divided into two bitterly opposing sides. The Cherokee Supreme Court Building, located in downtown Tahlequah and constructed in 1844, is the oldest public building in Oklahoma.Martindale, Robert. "Cherokee Nation places three historical buildings in trust", ''Tulsa World'', 28 June 2003 Several markers of Cherokee and Native American heritage are found in town: street signs and business signs are noted in both the Cherokee language and English. Such signs use the

syllabary In the Linguistics, linguistic study of Written language, written languages, a syllabary is a set of grapheme, written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) mora (linguistics), morae which make up words. A symbol in a syllaba ...

created by

Sequoyah Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...

, a Cherokee scholar of the 1820s who created the writing system.

Post Civil War rebuilding and development

After the war, a brick capitol was built and first occupied in 1870. In 1907, at the time of Oklahoma statehood, the building was converted into the Cherokee County courthouse. It was returned to the Cherokee Nation in 1970. Harrington, Beth. "Tahlequah," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009.
Accessed March 30, 2015. In 1886, the first telephone company in Indian Territory was built. The Cherokee Female Seminary, which had originally been constructed in Park Hill, burned in 1887, and was rebuilt in Tahlequah. After statehood, it was taken over by the state to become Northeastern State Normal School and the Northeastern State Teachers College (now

). The first bank in the Cherokee Nation opened in 1891 on Muskogee Avenue. A major fire destroyed much of downtown Tahlequah in 1895. The buildings destroyed were mostly wooden and were replaced with brick structures. In 1902, the Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway built a line into Tahlequah. Tahlequah continued to grow. During the 1990s, it was the fourth fastest growing city in Oklahoma.

Geography

Tahlequah has a total area of 12.45 square miles (32.2 km), all land. The city is west of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

state line.

Climate

Tahlequah, like most of the Southern United States, has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') with uncomfortably hot and humid summers, generally warm but very variable springs and autumns, and cool winters with frequent frosts and occasional spells of severe weather dominated by cold, dry Canadian air.

Demographics

As of the 2010

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 15,753 people, 6,111 households, and 3,351 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,857 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 53.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 30.0% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.7% from other races, and 8.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population. Out of 6,111 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 23.6% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males. As of 2013, the median household income was $29,114 and the median family income was $43,940. Males had a median income of $32,475 versus $27,939 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,003. About 20.7% of families and 33.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 43.2% of those under age 18 and 21.8% of those age 65 or over. Many people in Tahlequah speak

, and there is a Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, that educates students from

pre-school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical s ...

through eighth grade with the Cherokee language as the medium of instruction, and no English.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Most of the city is zoned to Tahlequah Public Schools, while portions are zoned to Briggs Public School. Education within the Tahlequah city limits consists of one early learning center serving students in Pre-K: Sequoyah; three elementary schools serving students in Kindergarten through 5th grade: Greenwood, Cherokee, and Heritage; one middle school with grades 6 through 8: Tahlequah Middle School; and one high school with grades 9-12: Tahlequah High School. Tahlequah High School serves as the main high school within the county as well and is fed by other rural Pre-K through 8th grade schools within Cherokee County. The following schools have Tahlequah postal addresses but are in the Park Hill

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. *

Cherokee Immersion School The Cherokee Immersion School (, ''Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi'') is a Cherokee language immersion school in Park Hill, Oklahoma, with a Tahlequah post office address. It is for children during pre-school to grade 8. It was founded by the Cherok ...

Sequoyah Schools Sequoyah High School (also known as Sequoyah-Tahlequah) is a Native American boarding school serving students in grades 7 through 12, who are members of a federally recognized Native American tribe. The school is located in Park Hill, Oklahoma, w ...

- Compare the address to the CDP maps. The school is ''not'' (as of 2020) in the Tahlequah city limits
The city of Houston stated in 1996 that the US Postal Service does not match city names of postal addresses to actual municipal boundaries

Colleges

is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Oklahoma as well as one of the oldest institutions of higher learning west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Tahlequah is home to the capital of the

Nation of

and about 25 percent of the students at NSU identify themselves as American Indian.Agnew, Brad. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Northeastern State University." The university has many courses focused on Native American linguistics, and offers

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

Education as a major. Cherokee can be studied as a

second language A second language (L2) is a language spoken in addition to one's first language (L1). A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a foreign language. A speaker's dominant language, which ...

, and some classes are taught in Cherokee for

first language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

speakers as well.

Culture

Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum

The building that once housed the Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation has been converted into a museum, the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum and is open to the public. It reportedly is the oldest public building in Oklahoma. It was constructed on the southeast corner of the town square by James S. Pierce in 1844. The first chief justice of the Cherokee Nation, John Martin held court here. The printing press for the early-day ''Cherokee Phoenix'' newspaper was also located in this building, and a reproduction of the press and the newsroom can be seen here."Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum." Trip Advisor. 2019.
Accessed November 8, 2019.

Cherokee National History Museum

The

Cherokee National Capitol The Cherokee National Capitol (Cherokee: ), now the Cherokee National History Museum, is a historic tribal government building in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Completed in 1869, it served as the capitol building of the Cherokee Nation (19th century), Che ...

building was built on the town square in 1869. It contained the nation's executive and legislative offices until the tribal national government was dissolved in 1906, in preparation for Oklahoma's statehood. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is designated as a National Landmark. The museum contains of space for permanent exhibits and of rotating gallery space. Exhibits include not only works by Cherokee artists, but also artifacts loaned by the collections of the Cherokee Nation Archives,

Gilcrease Museum Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gr ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

and the

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

Notable people

Angela Barker-Jones Angela Barker-Jones (July 29, 1969 – July 31, 2018) was a Cherokee jurist who served as a justice on the Cherokee Nation supreme court. She was the second woman to hold this position in the court's history. Life Barker-Jones was born on July ...

, Cherokee jurist * Roy Boney, Jr., animator, artist, graphic novelist, language advocate *

Tyler Bunch Tyler Bunch, also known as H.D. Quinn, https://twitter.com/tyler_bunch?lang=en is an American puppeteer, director, and actor. Career Since 1993, Bunch has been a puppet performer for The Jim Henson Company and The Muppets Studio. Under the ...

, puppeteer *

Robert J. Conley Robert J. Conley (December 29, 1940 – February 16, 2014) was a Cherokee author. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas. Conley was born in Cushing, Oklahoma on December 29, 1940. He wa ...

, author *

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant coll ...

, head football coach,

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

(2007–2011), former head coach,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

(1995–2000) * Evan Felker lead singer of the Tahlequah-based Red Dirt Country band

Turnpike Troubadours The Turnpike Troubadours are an American country music band from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, founded in 2005. They started their own imprint, Bossier City Records, in 2007 and have released six studio albums. Their self-titled 2015 album peaked at num ...

* Tina Glory-Jordan Cherokee Nation supreme court justice (2023–present) secretary of state (2019–2023), tribal councilor (2007–2015) * Bill Harrelson, Major League Baseball pitcher * Wanda Hatfield, Cherokee Nation tribal councilor (2015–2019) *

Ryan Helsley Ryan Dalton Helsley (born July 18, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Helsley played college baseball at Northeastern State University. He was selected by the Cardinals ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher * Sara E. Hill, federal judge for the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (in case citations, N.D. Okla.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

Adrian Houser Adrian David Houser (born February 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets. Career Amateur caree ...

Professional pitcher for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

* Murv Jacob, artist and illustrator, owned an art gallery and studio in Tahlequah for three decades, where he died. *

Stacy Leeds Stacy L. Leeds (born 1971) is an American law professor, scholar, and former Supreme Court Justice for the Cherokee Nation. Since 2022, Leeds has served as the Dean of Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. She served as Dean of the University of A ...

, tribal judge, Indian law professor, Dean of

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

* Ronald G. Lewis, social worker and professor *

Wilma Mankiller Wilma Pearl Mankiller (; November 18, 1945April 6, 2010) was a Native American activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Tribal chief, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Tahlequah, Oklaho ...

, born in Tahlequah, first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation * Robert Presley, former Riverside County (CA) Undersheriff, California State Senator (1975-1995) * Malcolm Rodriguez, Professional football for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Sonny Sixkiller Alex L. "Sonny" Sixkiller (born September 6, 1951) is an American former football player and sports commentator. He is currently a senior manager for business development for Huskies Sports Properties, the rights-holder for University of Washingt ...

, football player *

Chaske Spencer Chaske Spencer is an American actor. He gained prominence through his role as List of Twilight characters#Sam Uley, Sam Uley in the ''The Twilight Saga (film series), Twilight'' films (2009–2012). For his performance in the BBC and Amazon Prim ...

, Actor, born in Tahlequah, member of the Lakota Sioux Nation. *

Chad "Corntassel" Smith Chadwick "Corntassel" Smith (Cherokee name Ugista:ᎤᎩᏍᏔ derived from Cherokee word for "Corntassel", Utsitsata:ᎤᏥᏣᏔ; born December 17, 1950) is a Cherokee Nation politician and attorney who served as Principal Chief of the Cheroke ...

, author, lawyer, and former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation *

Wes Studi Wesley Studi (; born December 17, 1947) is a Native American (Cherokee Nation) actor and film producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and awards throughout his career, particularly for his portrayal of Native Americans in film. In 2019, he ...

, actor, born in Tahlequah *

Johnny Tiger Jr. Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. (Muscogee Creek-Seminole), (February 13, 1940 – August 5, 2015) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American artist from Oklahoma.Lester, 557 Background Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. was born on February 13, 194 ...

, artist *

Florence Owens Thompson Florence Owens Thompson (born Florence Leona Christie; September 1, 1903 – September 16, 1983) was an American woman who was the subject of Dorothea Lange's photograph '' Migrant Mother'' (1936), considered an iconic image of the Great Depr ...

, subject of

Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange' ...

's famous photograph Migrant Mother *

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

, country singer and musician, 1917–1983; died at his home in Tahlequah

In media

*Tahlequah is featured in the well-known books ''

Where the Red Fern Grows ''Where the Red Fern Grows'' is a 1961 children's novel by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhounds for hunting. It is a work of autobiographical fiction based on Rawls' childhood in the Ozarks. Plot The novel b ...

'' and ''

Summer of the Monkeys ''Summer of the Monkeys'' is a 1976 children's story written by Wilson Rawls. It was published by Doubleday (later released by Yearling Books) and was the winner of the William Allen White Book Award and the California Young Reader Medal.

'' by

Wilson Rawls Woodrow Wilson Rawls (September 24, 1913 – December 16, 1984) was an American writer best known for his books '' Where the Red Fern Grows'' and '' Summer of the Monkeys''. Early years Woodrow Wilson Rawls was born in the Ozark Mountains near ...

. *Tahlequah was once named as the fictional "home office" for the Top Ten Lists on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

''. *Tahlequah is mentioned several times in

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's 1892 novel '' The American Claimant'' as the origin of a bank robber named One-Armed Pete. *Tahlequah is visited by the main characters in "Westward of the Law" by

Matt Braun Matthew Braun
at

Larry McMurtry's "Zeke and Ned." *In ''

The Burning Maze ''The Burning Maze'' is an American fantasy novel based on Greek and Roman mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on May 1, 2018, and is the third book in ''The Trials of Apollo'' series, the second spin-off of the ...

'' by

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Jr. ( ; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million cop ...

, Cherokee demigoddess Piper McLean relocates to Tahlequah. *'' Starcarbon'' by Ellen Gilchrist takes place largely in Tahlequah. * Tahlequah is featured in the Newbery Medal winning civil war novel '' Rifles for Watie'' written in 1957 by Harold Keith.

Notes

References

External links

*
Tahlequah Public Library

Tahlequah TourismCity of Tahlequah Cemetery deceased records and online map
at Chronicle Cemetery Map {{authority control Cities in Cherokee County, Oklahoma Cities in Oklahoma Cherokee towns in Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States Micropolitan areas of Oklahoma Populated places established in 1839 United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 1839 establishments in Indian Territory Seats of government of American Indian reservations