Webbers Falls - Last Stop for the Last Detachment

Flooding

Note: Webbers Falls flooded in 2019 and access has changed. This page and the two listed below share the content of three exhibits once located at the waterfront.

Map of Indian Territory, 1895. The Arkansas and Illinois rivers are highlighted in blue and the towns of Fort Gibson, Webbers Falls, Tahlequah, and Fort Smith are labeled.

Webbers Falls was a Cherokee settlement prior to the forced removal of 1838-1839. The last detachment landed here at the mouth of the Illinois River near the Old Settlers capital at Tahlonteeskee and the commercial center at Webbers Falls.

Low water prevented the detachment from reaching Fort Gibson, their originally assigned disbandment site. After the steamboat landed at the mouth of the Illinois River, the detachment made its way overland on foot and by wagon to Tahlequah to disband.

There are several sites in Webbers Falls to visit related to the Trail of Tears. Begin at the waterfront and learn more about how the geography of the area shaped Cherokee settlement and the growth of a Cherokee town prior to the forced removal. Learn more by viewing the waterfront exhibits and imagining the scene as the John Drew detachment landed near here by steamboat.

More about Webbers Falls:

• "really a beautiful fall"
• Old Settlers, New Homeland

Contact information and directions:

Waterfront and exhibits:
River Road, Webbers Falls, Oklahoma 74470, Coordinates: 35.513, -95.127

• Historical society

301 Commercial Street (corner of Commercial and Main), Webbers Falls, Oklahoma; 918-464-2728

• Town of Webbers Falls
• Trail of Tears Association (located in Webbers Falls/Gore)