Last updated: April 19, 2021
Place
Monroe Mission, Milepost 245.6
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Milepost 245.6 on the Natchez Trace Parkway
Significance:
American Indian Site
Amenities
2 listed
Accessible Sites, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
According to the article The Chickasaw Nation 1820-1830 published in the Chickasaw Press, when Thomas C. Stuart arrived in 1820, the Chickasaw people were entrenched in adapting to the changes in their homeland. Stuart was part of the party of mission workers who in January 1821, felled the first tree at the mission site that symbolized the “civilization” of the area.The Chickasaw people were aware that having their children educated according to the missionary standards would benefit the Chickasaw people in adapting to the changing world. The numbers of Chickasaw children sent to the school exceeded the capacity and a new school was built two miles north of the Monroe Mission.The people of the Chickasaw Nation are exceptional when it comes to adapting to changes and moving forward, while at the same time, not forsaking their traditions and heritage. The latest accomplishments of the Chickasaw people can be viewed at Chickasaw.net.
Sign Text:
At Monroe Mission Station northwest of here, the Chickasaws first received Christianity and education in 1822. Five years later, 100 acres were under cultivation and 81 pupils were attending the school. Boys learned farming and carpentry, and girls learned spinning and weaving, in addition to the classroom work.
More than 150 persons were baptized in the church, “a diminutive room, not over 16x16’. In front was a “a large arbor covered with brush and seated with puncheons for summer meetings."
Monroe and three other stations were the training centers form many who became leaders of the Chickasaws in Oklahoma.
Sign Text:
At Monroe Mission Station northwest of here, the Chickasaws first received Christianity and education in 1822. Five years later, 100 acres were under cultivation and 81 pupils were attending the school. Boys learned farming and carpentry, and girls learned spinning and weaving, in addition to the classroom work.
More than 150 persons were baptized in the church, “a diminutive room, not over 16x16’. In front was a “a large arbor covered with brush and seated with puncheons for summer meetings."
Monroe and three other stations were the training centers form many who became leaders of the Chickasaws in Oklahoma.