Piney is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 115 at the 2010 census. Piney was the "head town" of the first wave of relocated Cherokee people (the "Old Settlers") who relocated there from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States.

History

Piney was established in 1824 as the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

head town, serving as the council seat (informal capital) of the Cherokee Nation–West from 1824 to 1828. The town was part of what was then

Arkansaw Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

.''Ghost Towns of Oklahoma''
Morris, John Wesley; Norman, OK; University of Oklahoma Press; 1978; ; accessed November 2015 In 1828, the western borders of the future state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

were finally drawn (running just one mile east of the settlement), and the old Arkansaw Territory was split into two. The Cherokee Nation capital city was created in the more centrally located Tahlonteeskee in Sequoyah County, located in the western side of the split (the new

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

). Most of the Cherokee residents migrated further west into their designated districts in the Indian Territory following the territorial split. A Baptist missionary, Duncan O'Bryant, who had served in Piney for a time, remained behind. He died in 1834 and his grave is located there. Piney had a post office from November 24, 1913, to August 20, 1921. The town reached its largest size ''circa'' 1916. It had a general store (where the post office was located); a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

; a blacksmith's shop; and a school, which is now used as a community building. The incorporated town continued until 1940. The original settlement of Piney is now considered a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

, although some residents still live in the area (2011).

Geography

Piney is located at in eastern Adair County, west of the

border. The Piney CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.32%, is water. No major roads run through the community.

Demographics

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Adair County, Oklahoma Census-designated places in Oklahoma Ghost towns in Oklahoma Geography of Adair County, Oklahoma Cherokee towns in Oklahoma

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References