Cherokee Exodus from Texas

The Handbook of Texas says Cherokees, Shawnees, Delawares and Kickapoos were living in what became Henderson County in 1836, having moved west in the winter of 1819-20, and that Spanish and Mexican authorities welcomed them as a buffer against American settlers. The first part of the battle of the Neches in July 1839 took place inside the county's present lines. President Lamar then forced the remaining Native people out of Texas. The Delawares left peach orchards near Poynor, and the name Bowles Creek still marks the county map.

What the plaque says

Cherokee Exodus from Texas Driven from eastern states by white settlers, Cherokee Indians migrated to the East Texas area, becoming established by 1820. In 1822, they unsuccessfully sought title to their land from Mexico. The years following were ones of an increasingly uneasy truce for both Texans and Cherokees. In 1839, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Republic of Texas president, sent orders for the tribe to leave Texas. In July 15-16 battle northwest of here two Texans and eighteen Indians, including Chief Bowles (aged 81), were killed. The remaining Indians retreated into what is now Oklahoma. (1969)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tyler Rose Garden and Rose Museum — 10 mi
  More than 38,000 rose bushes of about 600 cultivars in a free city garden, beside a museum of the Texas Rose Festival, which began in 1933, and of the rose industry.
• Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum — 12 mi
  A Tyler house begun in 1859 as four rooms, enlarged by the Goodman family over 73 years, and left to the city in 1939 with its furnishings, in a garden that fills a city block.
• Camp Ford Historic Park — 14 mi
  A free county park north of Tyler on the site of the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi, with a kiosk, an interpretive trail and a historical society museum downtown.
• Tyler State Park — 17 mi
  A 985-acre park eight miles north of Tyler, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1941 around a 64-acre spring-fed lake, with more than 13 miles of trails.

More markers nearby

• John Crane — steps away
• Yarborough Home — steps away
• Old Rock Hill Cemetery — 3.8 mi
• Smith County — 7.2 mi