Near Oakville in Lawrence County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Cherokee Council House Museum

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 8, 2009

1. Cherokee Council House Museum Marker

Inscription. The Oakville Indian Mounds Museum is based on a seven sided Cherokee council house. This type of council house was used during the cooler months and an open sided rectangular pavilion during warmer weather. The descriptions used for the museum's construction came from Lt. Henry Timberlake, who visited the Cherokee capitol at Chota in 1761 and William Bartram who visited Cowe in 1765. Timberlake's description: "The townhouse, in which are transacted all public business and diversions, is raised with wood, and covered over with earth and has all the appearance of a small mountain at a little distance. It is built in the form of a sugar loaf, and large enough to contain 500 persons, but extremely dark, having besides the door, which is narrow that but one at a time can pass, and that after much winding and turning, but one small aperture to let the smoke out, which is so ill contrived, that most of it settles in the ancient amphitheater, the seats being raised one above another, leaving an area in the middle in the center of which stands the fire: the seats of the head warriors are nearest it." The seven sides represent the

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matrilineal clans of the Cherokee: Wild Potato, Long Hair, Paint, Wolf, Deer, Bird and Blue.

Erected by Lawrence County Historical Commission Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 1761.

Location. 34° 26.641′ N, 87° 10.7′ W. Marker is near Oakville, Alabama, in Lawrence County. It is on County Road 187. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Danville AL 35619, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Doublehead (within shouting distance

Oakville Indian Mound Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 8, 2009

2. Oakville Indian Mound Park

Oakville Indian Mound Park

of this marker); Town of Oakville (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Indians (about 600 feet away); Copena Burial Mound (about 600 feet away); Cherokee Indian Removal (about 700 feet away); Oakville Indian Mound (about 700 feet away); Creek Indian Removal (about 700 feet away); Streight's Raid (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oakville.

Cherokee Council House Museum - View from Oakville Indian Mound image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 8, 2009

3. Cherokee Council House Museum - View from Oakville Indian Mound

(backside)

Entrance metal markers honoring the Cherokee clan names. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 27, 2021

4. Entrance metal markers honoring the Cherokee clan names.

Clan names include: Blue Clan, Bird Clan, Deer Clan, Wolf Clan, Paint Clan, Long Hair Clan, & Wild Potato Clan.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 3,254 times since then and 95 times this year. Last updated on June 12, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 4, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 3. submitted on September 21, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 4. submitted on August 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Closeup of Cherokee Council House Museum. • Can you help?