Coweta, Oklahoma
History
History
-------

[thumb\|left\|Oklahoma Farmers parade in downtown Coweta, 1905](/wiki/Image:Oklahoma_Farmers_1905.jpg "Oklahoma Farmers 1905.jpg")

Before statehood, when the Five Tribes or [Five Civilized Tribes](/wiki/Five_Civilized_Tribes "Five Civilized Tribes") were moved to [Indian Territory](/wiki/Indian_Territory "Indian Territory") from the Southeastern United States, the area that is now Coweta was designated as part of the [Muscogee (Creek) Nation](/wiki/Muscogee_%28Creek%29_Nation "Muscogee (Creek) Nation"). Coweta was named after a Lower Creek town on the [Chattahoochee River](/wiki/Chattahoochee_River "Chattahoochee River") in southwestern [Georgia](/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29 "Georgia (U.S. state)"). It was first settled by Muscogee about 1840\.

In 1843, [Robert Loughridge](/wiki/Robert_Loughridge "Robert Loughridge"), a [Presbyterian](/wiki/Presbyterian "Presbyterian") minister, arrived in the area and established a mission, named "[Koweta](/wiki/Koweta_Mission_Site "Koweta Mission Site")". He had gained Creek Council approval for this the year before. Loughridge left Koweta in 1850 to supervise the newly completed [Tullahassee Mission School](/wiki/Tullahassee_Mission_Site "Tullahassee Mission Site"). Both schools closed in 1861 at the outbreak of the American Civil War, when missionaries left the Territory.

In 1867 after the [Civil War](/wiki/American_Civil_War "American Civil War"), the Creek Indians adopted a constitution related to the model of the United States. In addition to government, it established six districts for their nation. Everything northeast of the [Arkansas River](/wiki/Arkansas_River "Arkansas River"), including [Tulsa](/wiki/Tulsa "Tulsa"), became the Coweta district. The political center of this district was located in a log courthouse on Coweta Creek, about a quarter mile west of present\-day center of downtown Coweta. The post office was established on May 24, 1897, and took its name from [Koweta Mission](/wiki/Koweta_Mission_Site "Koweta Mission Site").

As a result of negotiations with the congressionally appointed [Dawes Commission](/wiki/Dawes_Commission "Dawes Commission"), regarding the allotment of tribal communal lands in 1897–1898, the Creek courts’ jurisdiction was turned over to the federal government.

Notable events in 1903 included the arrival of the [Missouri\-Kansas\-Texas Railroad](/wiki/Missouri-Kansas-Texas_Railroad "Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad") in Coweta; founding of the community's first newspaper, *The Courier*; construction of the first public school for whites; and installation of a telephone line.

The Creek Nation had already established numerous schools for Indian children in their territory well before this time. The tribal school system was funded from federal annuities paid following Creek removal to Indian Territory. By the later 19th century, the Creek Nation encouraged the founding of more schools: Wealaka Mission School (1882\), which replaced [Tullahassee](/wiki/Tullahassee_Mission_School "Tullahassee Mission School"); [Asbury Manual Labor School](/wiki/Asbury_Manual_Labor_School "Asbury Manual Labor School"), transferred from Alabama; [Harrell Institute](/wiki/Harrell_Institute "Harrell Institute") (1881\); [Bacone College](/wiki/Bacone_College "Bacone College") (1885\); and [Levering](/wiki/Levering_Mission "Levering Mission"), [Nuyaka](/wiki/Nuyaka_Mission "Nuyaka Mission"), and [Yuchi Mission](/wiki/Yuchi_Mission "Yuchi Mission") schools. In this period, they had seven boarding schools for Indian children, three boarding schools for descendants of [Creek Freedmen](/wiki/Creek_Freedmen "Creek Freedmen"), including what was known after 1883 as the Tullahassee Manual Labor School; and 65 day schools.


What kind of schools were established by the Creek Nation for Indian children and why?