Baptist Mission

Jesse Bushyhead, Unaduti in Cherokee, was born in 1804 near present Cleveland, Tennessee, and is said to have been the first Cherokee ordained a Baptist minister. For years he put Evan Jones's English sermons into Cherokee, and the two translated Genesis and other books into the syllabary. He opposed removal, yet led a party of about 1,000 people west on the Trail of Tears before settling here. Chosen chief justice of the Cherokee Nation in 1840, he held the office until his death in 1844, and his son Dennis was principal chief from 1879 to 1887.

What the plaque says

Baptist Mission About 4 mi., N. and W. Established by Rev. Jesse Bushyhead in 1839, and known as Bread Town by the Cherokees. Rev. Evan Jones was missionary in charge. The Cherokee Messenger printed there beginning in August, 1844, was 1st. periodical in Oklahoma. Mission moved to Tahle- quah, 1867. Bacone College at Musko- gee, still in operation, is outgrowth of the school at Baptist and Tahlequah. Oklahoma Historical Society and State Highway Commission 1949 Baptist Mission Rev. Jesse Bushyhead settled here in 1839 following the Cherokee re- moval from the East and held church services at his home until the Baptist mission was established in 1841 by Rev. Evan Jones. This site was also one of the ration stations known as Ga-du hv-ga-du or Breadtown by the Cherokees following removal. A Cherokee national school was founded near here in 1843 and the mission established a female semi- nary the same year. The Cherokee Messenger printed here beginning in August 1844 was the first peri- odical in Oklahoma. The mission station was burned during the Civil War by the Confederates because of the anti-slavery teaching of the missionaries. While the mission was never rebuilt the church has con- tinued to meet. The present church building was built in 1888. Oklahoma Historical Society 62-1995

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cherokee National History Museum — 23 mi
  The Cherokee Nation's own history museum, in the brick capitol it built on Tahlequah's square after the Civil War, a short walk from its 1844 supreme court and its 1875 prison.
• Saline Courthouse Museum — 27 mi
  The one Cherokee district courthouse of nine still standing, an 1884 building near Rose that the Cherokee Nation bought back and opened as a museum in 2019.

More markers nearby

• Robert Rogers — steps away
• Fort Wayne — 4.9 mi