Piney, Oklahoma


Piney is a census-designated place in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 115 at the 2010 census. Piney was the "head town" of the first wave of relocated Cherokee people who relocated there from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States.

History

Piney was established in 1824 as the Cherokee head town, serving as the council seat of the Cherokee Nation–West from 1824 to 1828. The town was part of what was then Arkansaw Territory. In 1828, the western borders of the future state of Arkansas were finally drawn, and the old Arkansaw Territory was split into two. The Cherokee Nation capital city was created in the more centrally located Tahlonteeskee in Sequoyah County, located in the western side of the split. Most of the Cherokee residents migrated further west into their designated districts in the Indian Territory following the territorial split. A Baptist missionary, Duncan O'Bryant, who had served in Piney for a time, remained behind. He died in 1834 and his grave is there.
Piney had a post office from November 24, 1913 to August 20, 1921. The town reached its largest size about 1916. It had a general store ; a gristmill; a blacksmith's shop; and a school, which is now used as a community building. The incorporated town continued until 1940. The original settlement of Piney is now considered a ghost town, although some residents still live in the area.

Geography

Piney is located at in eastern Adair County, west of the Arkansas border. The Piney CDP has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.32%, is water. No major roads run through the community.