Jack Brown House Designated Historic Property
By Gregg Simmons ~ Staff Writer 3/11/2005

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council approved a resolution during its February meeting that will allow the designation of a Sequoyah High School building as historic property. 

"It is important to the perpetuation of our Cherokee culture and history to preserve historic Cherokee sites," Principal Chief Chad Smith said. "Naming it the Jack Brown House is an appropriate salute to one of our distinguished Cherokee families." 

The historic building located on the SHS grounds will be used as guest quarters for dignitaries visiting the Cherokee Nation. 

The resolution was introduced by Chuck Hoskin, who represents Craig County on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. He introduced Marion Hagerstrand, Brown’s daughter, from the audience. Hoskin read from the resolution that Jack Brown, from Marble City, Okla., was a long-time educator and Cherokee citizen who became superintendent of the Sequoyah Orphan Training School, now Sequoyah High School, and remained the driving force of the school for 32 years. He also spoke of Jack Brown’s legacy, his son Jack LeFlore and daughter, Marion, who were both in the service during World War II and continued their service to the Cherokee Nation as citizens. 

Jack Brown and wife Nola LeFlore Brown

"The historic residence located on the Sequoyah campus is a constant reminder of these prominent Cherokee citizens and public servants who once lived within its walls," Hoskin read. "The Nation desires to recognize the importance of public service by utilizing the building to accommodate distinguished visitors or dignitaries when they travel to the Cherokee Nation." 

"It was actually brought to me by the administration," Hoskin said. "There has always been a desire to do something with the Jack Brown House. It’s always been a question of money and exactly what to do." 

The facility will undergo renovations in the near future. "It’s going to be something the Cherokee people can be proud of. I was pleased that we where able to honor two things, Jack Brown and his commitment to the Cherokee people, and the structure itself." 

Jack Brown was born May 3, 1887, in Marble City, Indian Territory. He was the son of John Brown and Sally Mackey. He was an original enrollee on the Dawes Commission Cherokee Rolls. He graduated from the Cherokee Male Seminary where he served as captain of Company D and battalion major. He later graduated from Northeastern State College. 

Jack Brown, his wife Nola LeFlore Brown and daughter Marion Hagerstrand at the stairway of the Jack Brown house in 1940. (Photos Courtesy of Marion Hagerstrand)

He began his teaching career at the Male Seminary in 1906. He taught at Stilwell, Armstrong Academy, Nuyacka and Euchee Boarding Schools, all in Oklahoma and then become superintendent of the Sequoyah Indian School until he retired in 1953. He spent 46 years in service to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

Brown, his wife Nola, and their two children Jack LeFlore and Marion lived in the white two-story house on the campus of the orphan school. 

Brown’s mother died when he was 9 years old. His father was a deputy marshal and traveled extensively and could not keep five children together. 

"Knowing what it was to be an orphan, he was determined that no one was to move up a grade until they learned to read," Marion Hagerstrand, Brown’s daughter said. "They had to learn to read and had to learn arithmetic because when they got out of school, being orphans, they had no one to back them up." 

He joined the Cherokee Male and Female Seminaries Students and Teachers Association in 1924 and served as president of the organization for several years. He was also a charter member of the Tahlequah Kiwanis Club, a member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce and the Cherokee National Historical Society. He was also active in the United Fund of Tahlequah and served as president of his local American Cancer Society Chapter. Brown was also awarded Oklahoma’s Outstanding Older American in 1980. 

He had an impact on many lives at the orphan school and many of his former students visited him for years thereafter, bringing their spouses and children to visit the man that touched their lives. 

"He had a marvelous philosophy," Hagerstrand said. "His main thing was that anybody who is privileged has a responsibility to those who are not."