Editing Tahlequah, Oklahoma (section)

===Post Civil War rebuilding and development===
After the war, a brick capitol was built and first occupied in 1870. In 1907, at the time of Oklahoma statehood, the building was converted into the [[Cherokee County, Oklahoma|Cherokee County]] courthouse. It was returned to the Cherokee Nation in 1970.<ref name="Harrington">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TA002  Harrington, Beth. "Tahlequah," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009.] Accessed March 30, 2015.</ref>

In 1886, the first telephone company in Indian Territory was built. The Cherokee Female Seminary, which had originally been constructed in Park Hill, burned in 1887, and was rebuilt in Tahlequah. After statehood, it was taken over by the state to become Northeastern State Normal School and the Northeastern State Teachers College (now [[Northeastern State University]]). The first bank in the Cherokee Nation opened in 1891 on Muskogee Avenue.

A major fire destroyed much of downtown Tahlequah in 1895. The buildings destroyed were mostly wooden and were replaced with brick structures.

In 1902, the [[Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway]]{{efn|OCCR was soon afterwards bought by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (aka Frisco).<ref name="Mullins">[https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/three-forks-history-muskogee-once-served-by-five-railroads/article_abf6adf8-a8f9-5078-ae05-3895b5551c9d.html Mullins, Jonita. "Three Forks History: Muskogee once served by five railroads." ''Muskogee Phoenix''. November 28, 2015.] Accessed November 8, 2019.</ref>}} built a line into Tahlequah.<ref name="Harrington"/>

Tahlequah continued to grow. During the 1990s, it was the fourth fastest growing city in Oklahoma.