DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Little Bean's Cherokee Village, right here in Cherokee County. Winter of 1819 going into 1820 — not exactly the season most folks would choose to pack up everything and head somewhere new. But Chief John Bowles didn't have a lot of say in the timing.
He led about sixty Cherokee families out of Arkansas and into East Texas, and somewhere near this very ground, a settlement took root. It was established by a leader known as Little Bean, and for nearly two decades, that village stood. Now, think about that for a moment.
Sixty families. Children, elders, everything they owned. They built something here.
Something that lasted — until it didn't. In 1839, the Republic of Texas government forced the tribe to move to Oklahoma. No negotiation in that sentence.
No softening it. Forced. The village they had built, the land they had worked, all of it was opened to Anglo settlers not long after.
Early owners of what had been the Indian village were Reza J. Banks and Lewis Rogers. And Little Bean — the leader who had helped establish this place — died in 1839.
The same year the Cherokee were driven out. He is thought to be buried somewhere in the vicinity of this village. The land he built, his likely resting place.
Some stories don't need embellishment. This one just needs to be remembered.
What the marker says
In the winter of 1819-1820 Chief John Bowles led about sixty Cherokee families from Arkansas to East Texas. Near this site a small settlement was established by a leader named Little Bean. They remained until 1839, when the Republic of Texas government forced the tribe to move to Oklahoma. The land later was opened to Anglo settlers. Early owners of the Indian village were Reza J. Banks and Lewis Rogers. Little Bean, who died in 1839, is thought to be buried in the vicinity of the village.