Cherokee National Jail

Cherokee National Prison Museum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Cherokee National Jail in 1979
Location	Choctaw St. and Water Ave., Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Coordinates	35°54′43″N 94°58′2″W / 35.91194°N 94.96722°WCoordinates: 35°54′43″N 94°58′2″W / 35.91194°N 94.96722°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1874
NRHP Reference #	74001656[1][2]
Added to NRHP	June 28, 1974

The Cherokee National Jail or Cherokee National Penitentiary was built in 1874 as part of a governmental complex for the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. It served the Cherokee Nation until it was sold to Cherokee County, Oklahoma, which used it as a jail into the 1970s.^[3]

The prison, as built in 1874 for $6000, was a two-story building with a basement. The sandstone structure measures 48 feet (15 m) by 35 feet (11 m). The second floor has been removed and replaced with a flat roof. There are two sandstone porches on the main level, front and back, with hipped roofs.^[3][4] The Cherokee National Jail was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 28, 1974.^[1] The jail is now a museum, named the Cherokee National Prison Museum.^[5][6]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Oklahoma Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office".
3. Hagerstrand, M.A.; Ruth, Kent (March 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Cherokee National Jail" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
4. Hnedak, John D. "Cherokee National Penitentiary, 124 East Choctaw Street, Tahlequah, Cherokee, OK". Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress.
5. "Cherokee National Prison Museum". Cheroke Nation. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
6. "Cherokee National Prison Museum". Visit OK. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

External links

• Cherokee National Prison Museum - Visit Cherokee Nation
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. OK-25, "Cherokee National Penitentiary, 124 East Choctaw Street, Tahlequah, Cherokee County, OK"