Tullahassee Mission Site
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Tullahassee Mission was a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
mission and school, founded on March 1, 1850 in the
Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...
,
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
by
Robert Loughridge Robert McGill Loughridge (December 24, 1809 – July 8, 1900) was an American Presbyterian missionary who served among the Creek in Indian Territory. He attended Miami University, Ohio, and graduated in 1837. Loughridge was ordained as a Pres ...
. This Presbyterian minister had been serving there since 1843, when he founded Koweta Mission. This mission was also originally built for
Muscogee Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsCreek Freedmen Creek Freedmen is a term for emancipated Creeks of African descent who were slaves of Muscogee Creek tribal members before 1866. They were emancipated under the tribe's 1866 treaty with the United States following the American Civil War, during whi ...
, and the number of Muscogee had declined there. The Muscogee gave the Tullahassee mission and community to the Creek Freedmen, and it is one of the few surviving all-black towns in the state. The Muscogee paid to replace the damaged main Tullahassee building. It reopened in 1883 as Tullahassee Manual Labor School. After statehood, the federal government took over control of the property and sold it in 1914 to Wagoner County. In 1916 the
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
bought the property for use as Flipper-Key-Davis College. The private junior college was the only institution in the state for higher education for African Americans. It closed in 1935 during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.


History

While in the Southeast and soon after removal, most Muscogee Creek were opposed to all European-American missionaries and their schools, as they did not want their traditional culture disrupted by Christianity. But in 1842 the Creek Council had authorized Loughridge to set up a mission in Coweta, in order to get the associated school to educate their children. He returned in 1843 and founded Koweta Mission after the town. After assessing this school, the Creek Council allowed Loughridge in 1850 to establish another mission, Tullahassee, northwest of the community of Muskogee. The Creek said they would pay one-fifth of the cost from their annuities; the rest would be covered by the
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
Board of Foreign Missions. Loughridge chose the site for Tullahassee Mission and purchased of land from Thomas Marshall to support the complex. As at other boarding schools, students and staff would raise their own food and livestock on the facility. A three-storey, brick building was constructed on the site. It housed 80 students, primarily full-blood Creek. Opened in 1850, it was operated as an
Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...
for the next three decades to train both "full- blood" and "
mixed-blood The term mixed-blood in the United States and Canada has historically been described as people of multiracial backgrounds, in particular mixed European and Native American ancestry. Today, the term is often seen as pejorative. Northern Woodla ...
" Muscogee students. The latter generally had some European ancestry and were often descendants of traders who had married into the tribe in previous decades.Steineker, R.F. (2016). "'Fully equal to that of any children': Experimental Creek Education in the Antebellum Era." ''History of Education'' 56, no. 2. 273-300. Academic Search Premier.


Transfer of school to Creek Freedmen

During this period the community changed; after the Civil War, Creek Freedmen gathered in certain communities, among them Tullahassee, and outnumbered Muscogee Creek. The main Tullahassee building was largely destroyed by an accidental fire in December 1880. The Muscogee Creek Council relocated their children to a new school, Wealaka Mission, as their population had been declining in Tullahassee. They offered the former school and its improved plot to the
Creek Freedmen Creek Freedmen is a term for emancipated Creeks of African descent who were slaves of Muscogee Creek tribal members before 1866. They were emancipated under the tribe's 1866 treaty with the United States following the American Civil War, during whi ...
as a school for their children. The Council also paid to replace the burned main building and essentially turned over the community to the freedmen. The Muscogee children were transferred to Wealaka Mission in 1881. "46th Annual Report of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A.". May 1883. Retrieved April 12, 2013. Available via Google Book

/ref> The tribal leaders turned over the former mission building to Creek freedmen on October 24, 1881. The school reopened in 1883 for Creek Freedmen and their descendants as Tullahassee Manual Labor School. Additional funding was contributed by the
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
Home Mission Society.Zellar, Gary. "Tullahassee Manual Labor School (1850-1924)," Retrieved May 12, 201

/ref> The freedmen had the town incorporated in 1902 and recruited more African-American freedmen from the South as settlers. Much of the Creek lands (including that assigned to Creek freedmen) had been allotted to households by the early 20th century. In 1906, to extinguish tribal land claims and organization in preparation for Oklahoma to be admitted as a state, the federal government dissolved Creek institutions, including its school system. Tullahassee Manual Labor School was the only school in the former Creek Nation to remain temporarily open for descendants of Creek freedmen and other African Americans. In 1908 the US government took over ownership of the site via the
United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
, which by then had been authorized by Congress to have responsibility for Indian trust lands and treaties. Interior sold the property in 1914 to Wagoner County, Oklahoma for local uses. In 1916, the
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
(the first independent black denomination in the United States, established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) founded Flipper-Key-Davis College in Tullahassee. It was permitted to use the former mission building for the school. This was the only private school for higher education for African Americans in Oklahoma at the time. The college closed at the end of the 1935 school year, during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, when many institutions had financial difficulties.O'Dell, Larry
"Tullahassee."
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed July 8, 2012.]
An informal sign marks the Tullahassee Creek Indian Cemetery, established by 1883 near the mission site. In the 21st century, the small community of Tullahassee is considered the oldest of the surviving thirteen all-black towns in former Indian Territory.


See also

Nuyaka Mission The Nuyaka Mission site is located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, on McKeown Rd. (aka E0945 Rd) just off N 120 Rd (aka N3850 Rd), approximately 15.7 miles west of the intersection of U.S. Route 75 and Oklahoma State Highway 56, State Highway 56 (aka ...


References

{{NRHP in Wagoner County Creek freedmen Freedmen's towns Muscogee (Creek) Nation Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Wagoner County, Oklahoma National Register of Historic Places in Wagoner County, Oklahoma