History
Park Hill was the "home base" for many of the Cherokee after coming from the East on the "Trail of Tears". In 1829 the Park Hill Mission was established. The mission had one of the earliest presses in Oklahoma, the Park Hill Publishing House. The first post office was established at Park Hill on May 18, 1838, with Samuel Newton as postmaster. It was in Park Hill that Chief John Ross made his home in 1839, as well as his brother-in-law George Murrell, whose home still stands. On May 6, 1847, the post office was moved to Tahlequah. The Cherokee Female Seminary was also built here in 1849.
Park Hill was the center of culture for the Cherokees for many years and as such in 1940 the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Oklahoma erected a marker at Park Hill declaring it the "Center of Cherokee culture".
The post office at Park Hill was re-established April 22, 1892.
In and around Park Hill are several important sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Murrell Home, the Ross Cemetery, and the original Cherokee Female Seminary. The Cherokee Heritage Center is in Park Hill, on the grounds of the Female Seminary. Echota stomp dance grounds are located on the north side of town.
Read more about this topic: Park Hill CDP (Oklahoma)
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