Cherokee Nation To Reopen Sequoyah’s Cabin Museum

A popular Sallisaw tourist attraction will reopen Thursday after closing its doors several months ago when the Oklahoma Historical Society shut it down after it was no longer able to operate and maintain the site due to budget cuts. 

The Cherokee Nation stepped in when the society was forced to sell Sequoyah's Cabin, which was the home of legendary statesman and inventor of Cherokee syllabary, Sequoyah, in September 2016 and assumed ownership of the site in November. 

9/4/2016 Related Story: Cherokee Nation Steps In To Save Sequoyah's Cabin

Now, after much-needed repairs and renovations, the Nation is holding a grand reopening of the historical site on June 29 and Cherokee leaders will be speaking at the event.

The cabin was constructed by Sequoyah in 1829 and sees more than 12,000 visitors each year. The cabin was designated as a National Historic Landmark in

1966 and a National Literary Landmark in 2006. The homestead includes a one-room cabin and nearly 200 acres.

In September 2016, the Oklahoma Historical Society said it cost them $100,000 to maintain the cabin and it was forced to close the site and put it up for sale. 

Sequoyah’s Cabin will continue operations under Cherokee Nation Businesses and be managed by the cultural tourism department. In recent years, the Cherokee Nation also assumed ownership of two Oklahoma welcome centers, one in east Tulsa and one in Kansas, Oklahoma.

The reopening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June 29 at 11 a.m. at the cabin, which is located on Highway 101, seven miles east of Highway 59 in Sallisaw. 

For more information and admission costs, visit the Cherokee Tourism website.