Cherokee Co. Cemetery Cache Series - Molly Fields
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Drive into this very old cemetery and look at the many old headstone - lots of history here. While you are here, make sure to find Molly's resting place. N 36° 03.508 W 094° 53.955
You will be looking for a small ammo can.
Molly Field cemetery is one of those landmarks of Cherokee County-- like Combs Bridge and Joe's Red Barn-- that everyone seems to know. Practically everything located on State Highway 10 can be located by its relation to the small hillside cemetery.But as locally famous as the cemetery is, the woman responsible for its existence has remained relatively obscure. So obscure, in fact, that until recently, she didn't even have a headstone in the cemetery that bears her name. For those who don't know, Molly Field Cemetery sits on a steep hill overlooking S.H. 10, a dozen or so miles north of Tahlequah. A small chapel, built on a plot of land donated by Joe Deem in the early 1950s, sits next to the cemetery. The early history of Molly Field Cemetery is a bit sketchy. One story has it that, in the mid-1800s, a family with several children was traveling through the area in a covered wagon, and stopped to camp near the present location of the cemetery. One of the children, a young boy, fell out of a tree he was climbing and died from his injuries. Supposedly, his body was the first to be buried in the cemetery. Many small, unmarked stones dot the cemetery, but the earliest dated grave marker is that of J.F. Orchard and is dated 1894. According to Arthur Jordan, president of the Molly Fields Cemetery Association, the cemetery was once a part of an Indian allotment owned by Molly Field."She was an Indian lady, and she gave up part of her allotment for the cemetery," said Jordan. The actual date of the land transfer is unknown, as are most of the details of Field's life. Jordan said no one is certain how old she was when she died in 1931, and her only living relatives, some of whom live in Broken Arrow, are just distantly related to her. Field's grave was originally marked with a small stone, and cemetery records showed the location of her burial. Still, no monument marked her grave, despite the fact that the cemetery and chapel bear her name. Last month, the members of the cemetery association decided to change that.A slab of stone, obtained from Fort Gruber near Braggs, was engraved with her name and year of internment. The monument was placed on Field's grave just in time to be included in the Memorial Day decoration services. Field's grave is located near the edge of the woods that border the cemetery, in the shade of several cedar trees that, according to Jordan, were planted 90 years ago by Bob Murphy. Murphy now rests in Molly Field Cemetery, as well."She [Field] laid there for 71 years with no marker," said Jordan. "So we thought it was time to put a marker there."Jordan said that, even though Field is known to have been Indian, probably Cherokee, her actual tribal heritage is unknown, so the engraving of the marker was kept simple and all-encompassing."We just put a feather on it, to represent all the tribes," Jordan said.
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