Historical Marker Program

Clara Mae Luper

Okmulgee County
Location: on grounds of Grayson Town Hall and Community Center
Coordinates: 35.504761, -95.866354
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Town of Grayson
Topics: Civil Rights; Ethnic Diversity; Industrial Period, 1941–1982

Known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma, Clara Mae Luper was born in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, on May 3, 1923. She grew up in Hoffman and graduated from Grayson High School. She was well known by many as a courageous schoolteacher, pioneering leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and a civic leader.

Creek Capitol/Creek Council House

Okmulgee County
Location: on the grounds of the historic Creek Council House in Okmulgee
Coordinates: 35.623040, -95.972120
Material: Various
Sponsor(s): Multiple sponsors
Topics: American Indians; Government; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

There are multiple markers at this location to commemorate Okmulgee as the capitol of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The stone Creek Council House building was constructed in 1878 and has since been restored to serve as a museum. The Okmulgee Constitution was written here in 1870. Sponsors of markers include the Daughters of the American Revolution, Oklahoma Historical Society, and Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Nuyaka Mission

Okmulgee County
Location: on OK-56, nine miles west of Okmulgee
Coordinates: 35.624754, -96.149639
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Education; Government; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Nuyaka Mission was founded by the Presbyterian Board and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1882 through the efforts of educator Alice Robertson, who also served as Oklahoma’s first female member of Congress. Augusta Robertson Moore was the first superintendent of the mission school. Nuyaka Town, located nearby, was the site of political violence and unrest during the Green Peach War of 1882.

Okmulgee Colored Hospital

Okmulgee County
Location: 210 N. Wood Dr. in Okmulgee
Coordinates: 35.625388, -95.960514
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Landmark for All Generations
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Ethnic Diversity; Social/Cultural

In 1922, Okmulgee’s Black citizens secured $25,000 in donations to fund construction of the first "colored hospital" to be opened in the state of Oklahoma. Black citizens formed the Colored Hospital Association in 1924. The hospital housed 18–20 beds with living quarters for a staff of six to seven nurses. It closed in 1957 when Okmulgee integrated its health facilities. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Samuel Checote

Okmulgee County
Location: on grounds of historic Creek Council House in Okmulgee
Coordinates: 35.623072, -95.972344
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Creek Indian Memorial Association and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Military; Religion/Philosophy; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Samuel Checote spent much of his life serving as a Methodist minister. During the Civil War he was a lieutenant colonel of the First Regiment of Creek Mounted Volunteers. He was elected principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1867.

Trail of Tears

Okmulgee County
Location: on grounds of historic Creek Council House in Okmulgee
Coordinates: 35.622549, -95.972145
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Alabama Tennessee Trail of Tears Corridor Association, Inc.
Topics: American Indians; Military; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

During 1836-37, the US government forcibly removed about 14,000 Muscogees (Creeks) from Alabama and Georgia to Indian Territory. They were marched under harsh conditions, resulting in the deaths of about 4,000 individuals. All routes for removal ended at Fort Gibson, where the Creeks then moved into the current Muscogee (Creek) Nation boundaries.