Founding of Ada, "Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation"

East Central, which the plaque counts among Ada's makings, opened in borrowed rooms. When the state created three eastern normal schools in 1909, a booster group called the 25,000 Club lobbied for Ada and raised money for faculty salaries so classes could begin that autumn in churches and public school classrooms. The 1910 legislature paid for a building on sixteen acres donated by Dan Hayes, a Chickasaw allottee. Its graduates include Robert S. Kerr and many Chickasaw and Choctaw leaders, and since 1975 Ada has been the Chickasaw Nation's headquarters.

What the plaque says

Founding of Ada "Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation" Ada, Indian Territory, was founded on lands acquired from Chickasaw and Choctaw citizens. The U.S. government forcibly removed the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations to this area from their southeastern homelands. The town began in 1890 when William Jefferson (Jeff) Reed built a log store and dwelling near present Fourth St. and Oak Ave. A post office was established July 10, 1891, and the town was named "Ada" for Reed's oldest daughter. In 1900 the stores and post office moved to be near the newly-arrived St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad. The original passenger depot sat between Broadway and Townsend streets. In 1913 a new depot was built on this site. In 1968 the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce moved into the newly-renovated depot. Incorporated in 1901, Ada became the county seat of Pontotoc County at statehood in 1907. Railway transportation, the creation in 1909 of present East Central University, and the procurement of a prolific water supply from Byrd's Mill in 1910 set the stage for steady economic and cultural growth. From a raw frontier town, Ada evolved into "The Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation." Dedicated October 18, 2001 Oklahoma Historical Society T1-2001

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Chickasaw National Recreation Area — 24 mi
  Springs the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations sold to the government in 1902 rather than lose them to developers, later Platt National Park, now the Travertine district's creeks, CCC stonework and bison pasture.
• Chickasaw Cultural Center — 26 mi
  The Chickasaw Nation's 184-acre campus at Sulphur, opened in 2010, with an exhibit hall on the Nation's history, a recreated 1700s town with daily stomp dance, and a bridge into the national recreation area.

More markers nearby

• Delaware Mount — 2.3 mi
• Natural Mound — 6.0 mi
• Osage Village — 14 mi
• Sasakwa — 14 mi