Chickasaw Nation Capitols

The Chickasaw Council House and Museum chronicles the history of the Chickasaw Tribe, including exhibits on their removal from tribal lands in present-day Mississippi during the Trail of Tears and their settlement in Oklahoma. The museum is located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, admission is free and the museum offers daily tours. It features a collection of Chickasaw artifacts, a genealogy research center and a one-room log Council House, built in 1853.[2] Visitors can also visit the historic Chickasaw Nation Capitol building located next door.[3]

The Chickasaw settled on Choctaw lands in the Indian Territory following the Trail of Tears.[4] The Nation became independent in 1856 when a treaty was signed in Washington giving the Chickasaw Nation full ownership of 4,707,903 acres of land and the right of independent government.[2] The Chickasaw modeled their government after the United States, moving from a tribal council to a three-branch system consisting of legislative, executive and judicial branches.[4] It created its first constitution in 1848, and elected officers in 1857.[2] Tishomingo became the Nation's capital at this time, having received its name from the Chickasaw warrior of the same name, Chief Tishomingo, who had died en route to Oklahoma.[4]

The Council House is a 14 by 24 foot log building that was originally located at Good Spring on Pennington Creek.[2] A tree trunk attached to its outside wall was once used as a whipping post.[2] This structure served as the location of government meetings until the brick Capitol was constructed in 1858. The Council House was moved and used as a smoke house by Cyrus Harris, the first Chickasaw tribal governor. The brick building was demolished following a fire. In 1898 it was replaced by the structure that remains today, a large granite building, which also served as the Johnston County Courthouse.[4] In the 1930s, the Council House was placed on the west side of the Capitol building, and in the 1960s it was restored and covered by a tile block building that became the Museum.[2]

The red granite building was the third Capitol building for the Chickasaw Nation. It was preceded by an 1853 one-room log Council House and 1858 brick building that was destroyed by fire. The building was constructed in 1898 at a cost of $15,000[5] (equivalent to $528,000 in 2022) in the Victorian Gothic styles,[5] utilizing granite from the nearby, then tribally-owned quarry.[2] It served as the seat of the Nation's tribal government until Oklahoma statehood.[5]

It consists of three stories, an arched doorway on the south side, and a dome on top. In 1908, the building was sold to Johnston County for $7,500 (equivalent to $264,000 in 2022) for use as the county courthouse.[6] In 1989, the Chickasaw Nation repurchased the Capitol from Johnston County, and today the first two floors house exhibits that preserve the history of this early period of Chickasaw tribal government.[4]

The Capitol building is featured in a 1998 painting by Chickasaw artist Tom Phillips.[6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chickasaw National Capitols.

• Chickasaw Council House Museum - Chickasaw Council
• Chickasaw Nation Capitol Building - Chickasaw Council
• Historic Capitol & Council House Museum - Information & Videos - Chickasaw.TV