Historical Marker Program

Alexander Posey

McIntosh County
Location: off OK 9 in Posey Park, in Eufaula
Coordinates: 35.288483, -95.585067
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Arts; Government; Mass Communication; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

This famous Creek poet and journalist's life prematurely ended when he drowned in the North Canadian River near Eufaula on May 27, 1908. Alexander Posey was the editor of newspapers, a member of the Dawes Commission, and widely known for his poems such as "Ode to Sequoyah."

Asbury Memorial to Asbury Manual Labor School

McIntosh County
Location: off BUS-69 in Greenwood Cemetery, north of Eufaula
Coordinates: 35.293967, -95.582650
Material: Other (Stone with bronze plaque)
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Methodist Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Education; Religion/Philosophy

Stones that make up the monument are from the original buildings of Asbury Manual Labor School (est. 1847). The original site of the school lies under Lake Eufaula. Monument dedicated to Methodist missionaries who established the school for Native children and youth.

Buckner Cemetery

McIntosh County
Location: off BUS-69 in Greenwood Cemetery, north of Eufaula
Coordinates: 35.293933, -95.582783
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Baptist Historical Commission
Topics: Family/Household; Religion/Philosophy; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Dr. Henry F. Buckner, called “The Apostle to the Creeks,” and members of his family are buried here, having been moved from the Buckner home now under Lake Eufaula. Buckner came to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as a Baptist missionary in 1849. He died in 1882.

Deputy U.S. Marshal James Nakedhead

McIntosh County
Location: on OK-150 in Lake Eufaula State Park
Coordinates: 35.419127, -95.628342
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Sammy and Claudia Nakedhead and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Government; Recreational/Service; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

James Nakedhead was a deputy US marshal killed in the line of duty in Indian Territory on February 27, 1895. A Cherokee policeman, he was the first town marshal of Tahlequah in 1890.

Green Corn Dance

McIntosh County
Location: at Eufaula Indian Health Center, near S. 6th Street and Forest Avenue, in Eufaula
Coordinates: 35.282639, -95.591389
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Religion/Philosophy; Social/Culture

The Green Corn Ceremony is among the most important annual religious celebrations among many Native American tribes, including the Muscogee (Creek). Men, women, and children dress in colorful costumes, dance, chant, and sing around a central fire. Once rites are completed, green corn is served to everyone.

Honey Springs Battlefield

McIntosh County
Location: on grounds of Honey Springs Battlefield Historic Site, near Rentiesville
Coordinates: 35.530309, -95.486041
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): See marker description
Topics: American Indians; Ethnic Diversity; Government; Military; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Five granite markers commemorate those who fought in the Battle of Honey Springs on July 17, 1863. Markers are dedicated to Union soldiers, regiments from the Five Tribes, the First Regiment of Kansas Colored Volunteers, Confederate soldiers, and Confederate soldiers from Texas. Sponsors include the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Community Heritage Recognition Committee, and United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Jefferson Highway

McIntosh County
Location: at intersection of N. Broadway St. (BUS-69) and W. North Ave. in Checotah
Coordinates: 35.478463, -95.521519
Material: Other (Interpretive panel set in brick arch)
Sponsor(s): Checotah Landmark Preservation Society
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Transportation

The Jefferson Highway (circa 1920) was a 2,290-mile transcontinental roadway from Winnipeg, Canada, to New Orleans, Louisiana. The highway through Checotah ran North Broadway to Gentry Avenue, then on Southwest 2nd Street and back to South Broadway. The route formed what became US Highway 69.

Leo Newton and Bill J. Walker

McIntosh County
Location: on OK-150 in Lake Eufaula State Park
Coordinates: 35.386968, -95.602186
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Multiple
Topics: Industrial Period, 1941–1982; Law and Order

Dedicated to the memory of Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Bill Walker and Fountainhead State Park superintendent Leo Newton, who lost their lives in a shoot-out in the park in 1971.

North Fork Town

McIntosh County
Location: at the intersection of Elm and Main Streets in Eufaula
Coordinates: 35.290390, -95.582318
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): City of Eufaula and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Military; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Important center of Texas Road in Creek Nation, from 1836. Post office established at Micco, 1853. Albert Pike secured treaties for Confederate States, signed here, 1861, by Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek Nations., Asbury School approved by Creek Council and supervised by Methodist Board established near here, 1848.

Note: This marker is missing.

Paul Henry Carr

McIntosh County
Location: on grounds of Katy Depot Museum and Visitor Center in Checotah
Coordinates: 35.471295, -95.536944
Material: Granite
Topics: Industrial Period, 1941–1982; Military

Paul Henry Carr died during World War II in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 25, 1944. He was awarded a posthumous Silver Star for his "outstanding technical skill" and "courageous initiative" on the USS Samuel B. Roberts during the battle.

Rentiesville

McIntosh County
Location: in community of Rentiesville
Coordinates: 35.522796, -95.496731
Material: Other (Interpretive panel)
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Early Statehood Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Ethnic Diversity; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Urban Development

Rentiesville is one of 13 All-Black towns, out of more than 50 that once existed, remaining in Oklahoma. While Tullahassee is reportedly the oldest, most were established between 1889 and 1907 as African Americans sought security and control of their own destiny in a segregated world. Rentiesville was founded in 1903 and a post office opened in 1904. The town soon boasted a lumber store, cotton gin, and several businesses. It is the birthplace of historian John Hope Franklin and hosts the Dusk ’til Dawn Blues Festival each year.

Tuskegee Baptist Church

McIntosh County
Location: at intersection of OK-9 and NS-411
Coordinates: 35.289504, -95.698383
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Baptist Historical Commission
Topics: Folklife; Religion/Philosophy; Social/Cultural; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Annie Walker Armstrong (1850–1938) was corresponding secretary of the Woman’s Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention, which sent missionaries to Indian Territory. She made five trips to Indian Territory between 1900 and 1905. In 1900 she visited Tuskegee Baptist Church (founded 1867) to establish a women’s missionary society in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Approximately one mile south of this marker, on the grounds of Tuskegee Baptist Church, is another marker that notes the rock that Armstrong used to mount her horse during her visit to the church.

Vernon

McIntosh County
Location: in community of Vernon
Coordinates: 35.216608, -95.926825
Material: Other (Interpretive panel)
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Ethnic Diversity; Government; Settlement Patterns; Urban Development

Vernon is one of 13 All-Black towns, out of more than 50 that once existed, remaining in Oklahoma. While Tullahassee is reportedly the oldest, most were established between 1889 and 1907 as African Americans sought security and control of their own destiny in a segregated world. Vernon, established in March 1912, is named for William T. Vernon, a minister and bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who also served as registrar of the United States Treasury from 1906 to 1912 under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.