Cherokee National Penitentiary, 124 East Choctaw Street, Tahlequah, Cherokee County, OK

Significance: The third and final addition to the permanent buildings of the Cherokee National Government, the structure served until statehood as the center of law enforcement in the Nation. As such it is an illustration of the internal integrity and functioning of the Cherokee Government during the time in which it was virtually independent of the government of the United States. By its very nature it was furthermore the scene of numerous dramatic occurrences during the final, and in some ways the most troubled years of the Cherokee Nation.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-29

Survey number: HABS OK-25

Building/structure dates: 1874 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1925 Subsequent Work

prisons stone buildings sandstone law enforcement prisoners indians of north america building deterioration tahlequah okla cherokee national penitentiary cherokee national penitentiary choctaw east choctaw street tahlequah cherokee county american indians oklahoma s cavanaugh bethanie c grashof vicki j higgins historic american buildings survey john d hnedak nicholas h holmes walter smalling roger d swayze michael a tomlan photo library of congress

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html