An old saying goes, “Facts don’t change people. Stories do.” Stories abound in Oklahoma’s Green Country – on front porches, in the diners, at the cemeteries - any place people (or their ghosts) gather.
One place ghosts of Oklahoma past might be felt is at the Saline Courthouse, just east of Rose on highway 412. The Cherokee Nation built 9 courthouses in the late 1800’s, and this is the only one that remains standing. It has been a courthouse, a family home, a dance hall, and probably much more.
Today, the Saline Preservation Association is working hard to preserve the courthouse, which had fallen into disrepair in recent years, with plans of opening it and its grounds as a historic site.
According to Lisa Melchior, president of the SPA, festivals and storytelling events will be ideal events to be held at the Courthouse and on the grounds. One of the best things about the site is the spring that curves through the property from the restored springhouse. The water is crystal clear and cold and surrounded by wildflowers, moss, and large boulders.
Amos Perkins, whose grandfather owned the property in the 30’s, remembers coming to the courthouse for dances, “but I was too young to be in with there, so I had to go upstairs with the kids.”
Amos's older sister Alice said that Amos was too young to remember visiting the house when their grandfather owned it, but after he died in 1940, the Courthouse was used for all kinds of community events.
Besides good memories, other stories surrounding the courthouse involve the murder (often called a "massacre") of various men – with each teller giving a different version of events. An old cemetery with tombstones along the western edge of the property, which has been moved during the preservation, once included a headstone that included the words “Murdered by.”
There are plenty of stories about the courthouse and its illustrious history at the SPA's website. A book about the courthouse’s history is also for sale, and one can read about the society’s plans for restoration in all of its stages, which also includes an interpretive walking trail.
Just a walk around the Courthouse grounds conjures up stories from the past. All one need do is listen.
Comments
Wonderful story. Wonderful place to visit -- so beautiful.
Just a trip to this place inspires a story--a clear creek running, a lush green hillside, a stark white building--are what meets the eye. Thanks, Shaun for reminding me of this place.
It is a wonderful place! Thanks for reminding us.
Sahun, great writings! Ask your Dad if he remembers sitting on the steps watching them dance?
HEY MRS. PERKINS I WAS YOUR STUDENTSAT THE JR. HIGH IN PRYOR AND I WAS 9TH GRADER AT THE TIME I WAS THE KID THE BROKEN HIS SHOULDER IN FOOTBALL AND HAD ALOT OF CATCH UP WORK I HAD IN YOUR CLASS ENGLISH AND I HOPE YA REMEMBER ME I WENT TO THAT COURT HOUSE LAST NIGHT AND IT IS HAUNTED BAD I GOT ORBS RECORDING AND HOWLIN OF COYOTES THAT SOUNDED LIKE PPL OR INDIAN
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