Cherokee Female Seminary, Historic educational institution in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States

The Cherokee Female Seminary is a grand three-story building with two towers located on the Northeastern State University campus in Tahlequah. The structure was rebuilt after a fire destroyed the original institution and houses classrooms and dormitory spaces.

The Cherokee Female Seminary opened in 1850, a year before the male seminary, after the Cherokee National Council authorized both in November 1846. The original building burned on Easter Sunday 1887; the replacement, built on a 40-acre site near Hendricks Spring, was dedicated on May 7, 1889. The Cherokee Nation operated it until March 6, 1909, when Oklahoma converted it into a normal school.

The seminary followed the model of Mount Holyoke, and its first two teachers, Ellen Whitmore and Sarah Worcester, were alumnae of that Massachusetts school. Church attendance was mandatory, and sewing was taught alongside Latin and chemistry. The Cherokee Advocate reported that up to three thousand people attended the 1889 reopening, in a procession a mile long.

The building is now part of Northeastern State University and can be visited, with interior spaces accessible following a recent renovation. It is helpful to contact the university beforehand to check current visiting options and guided tour availability.

A notable graduate was Rachel Caroline Eaton, who became the first Indigenous woman from Oklahoma to earn a doctoral degree. Her achievement reflects the quality of education offered here.