Editing Tahlequah, Oklahoma (section)

=== Background ===
[[Tahlonteeskee, Oklahoma|Tahlonteeskee]] was the first established governmental capital of any kind in what was to become Oklahoma.<ref name="encyclo">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SE022 ''Sequoyah County'']; Oklahoma Historical Society online; accessed April 2018</ref><ref name="marker">[http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=9f83181e-ff2f-41a5-86f2-ff575a6a0a12 ''Tahlonteeskee'']; photo of roadside marker [Oklahoma Historical Society]; at waymarking.com; accessed November 2015.</ref>  It was established in 1828—in land that was part of 1816's [[Lovely's Purchase|Lovely Donations]], becoming the first Cherokee Nation–West capital city.  It continued as the capital until 1839 when new arrivals from the [[Trail of Tears]] flooded the area.  At that time, Takatoka briefly became the Nation's capital during the construction of the capitol building at Tahlequah.  By mid-1840, the seat of government had been officially moved to Tahlequah.<ref name="encyclo" />

By 1842, Tahlequah was a growing community and had four stores. The town site of {{convert|160| acres}} was surveyed in 1843, and in the same year an intertribal council attracted ten thousand participants representing 21 different tribes. In 1844 the National Hotel was built, and the newspaper ''Cherokee Advocate'' issued its first edition using a printing press installed in the brand-new Supreme Court building. The first school opened in 1845, and the Tahlequah post office opened in 1847. The Cherokee Male Seminary opened in 1851, offering higher education to Cherokee boys who had already received their primary education.<ref name= "EOHC-Tahlequah">[https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TA002 Harrington, Beth. "Tahlequah." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' 2009.] Accessed November 8, 2019.</ref>{{efn|The Cherokee Female Seminary, which performed a parallel function for Cherokee girls, also opened in 1851 at Park Hill.<ref name="EOHC-Tahlequah"/>}}