OKGenWeb Notice: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Presentation here does not extend any permissions to the public. This material may not be included in any compilation, publication, collection, or other reproduction for profit without permission.
The creator copyrights ALL files on this site. The files may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from the OKGenWeb Coordinator, [okgenweb@cox.net], and their creator. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc. are. It is, however, permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY.


Indian Pioneer Papers - Index

Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma
Date: August 3, 1937
COOKSON HILLS
Field Worker: Elizabeth Ross
#7026

COOKSON HILLS

Within recent years much has been said of the Cookson Hills, much of it in print. According to some of those who have referred to the hills, they cover a wide expanse of territory, extending from Cherokee County into Muskogee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware and Mayes Counties, but strictly speaking, the hills lie in Cookson Township. In long past years when the Cherokee Nation was existent the principal portion of the Cookson Hills of today (1937) was known as the Whiteoak Hills, and were so known to members of the COOKSON family from whom the township derived its name.

The Whiteoak Hills were within the Illinois District of the Cherokee Nation. Years ago the locality in which lived members of the Cookson family was well known as the Whiteoak neighborhood or locality, and was often referred to simply as Whiteoak.

A large general store in the Whiteoak locality was once operated by John H. Cookson and Thomas R. MADDEN. When a postoffice was established in the early eighties of the last century it received the name of Garfield, with Thomas R. Madden as postmaster. Some years later when the Iron Mountain Railway, as it is usually designated, was built, Bragg Station was established - named for Solomon BRAGG, proprietor of a grist mill, and the Cookson and Madden store was discontinued. Madden established a store at Bragg Station, now called Braggs.

The Whiteoak and other hills along the Illinois River were once noted for the wild game found among the valleys and in the woodlands. Deer were numerous, as were the turkeys. Old time hunters derived a considerable portion of their meat supply from the game of the hills. There were many predatory animals, and the wild bees stored much honey in the hollow trees in the woodlands and along the slopes of the ridges. When one desired a portion of honey a bee tree was felled and the honey taken from the hollow or cavity.

From time to time when persons living in the Illinois District became involved in trouble there were some who "scouted" or evaded officers of the law among the fastness of the hills. But not until comparatively recent times did lawless characters, principally from other sections, or from outlying states, seek refuge in the hills which are now called the Cookson Hills. In recent times most of the notorious characters of the seventies and eighties and early nineties of the last century have been mentioned as having once sought and found refuge in the Cookson Hills. Careful investigation, however, fails to substantiate the statements made by persons who have been most persistent in making such claims.

A number of the pioneer people of the Cherokee Nation once lived in the picturesque hills long before anyone dreamed of the coming of Statehood to the Indian Territory. Among the number of residents of a bygone time were included some who were of prominence in the official life of the Cherokee Nation.

In the old Whiteoak locality was established and kept in operation during a number of years a Cherokee National Primary School, sometimes called the Whiteoak School.

Authorities: Charles D. Glass, the late W. C. Davis, Cookson, Oklahoma.

Submitted to OKGenWeb by Gloria <gloria.bidinger@bonwell.com> 03-2000.