1828Government
It was established in 1828—in land that was part of 1816's Lovely Donations, becoming the first Cherokee Nation–West capital city.
1832History
Tahlequah was a settlement as early as 1832.
1834History
After the Western Cherokee agreed in 1834 to let the newer migrants settle near them, they joined their government with the Eastern Cherokee at Tahlequah in 1839.
1839Disaster
It continued as the capital until 1839 when new arrivals from the Trail of Tears flooded the area.
1840History
By mid-1840, the seat of government had been officially moved to Tahlequah.
1842History
By 1842, Tahlequah was a growing community and had four stores.
1843Culture
The town site of 160 acres (65 ha) was surveyed in 1843, and in the same year an intertribal council attracted ten thousand participants representing 21 different tribes.
1844Architecture
In 1844 the National Hotel was built, and the newspaper Cherokee Advocate issued its first edition using a printing press installed in the brand-new Supreme Court building.
1845Education
The first school opened in 1845, and the Tahlequah post office opened in 1847.
1851Education
The Cherokee Male Seminary opened in 1851, offering higher education to Cherokee boys who had already received their primary education.
1869Architecture
=== Cherokee National History Museum ===
The Cherokee National Capitol building was built on the town square in 1869.
1870Military
=== Post Civil War rebuilding and development ===
After the war, a brick capitol was built and first occupied in 1870.
1886Architecture
In 1886, the first telephone company in Indian Territory was built.
1887Architecture
The Cherokee Female Seminary, which had originally been constructed in Park Hill, burned in 1887, and was rebuilt in Tahlequah.
1891Architecture
The first bank in the Cherokee Nation opened in 1891 on Muskogee Avenue.
1892History
Tahlequah is mentioned several times in Mark Twain's 1892 novel The American Claimant as the origin of a bank robber named One-Armed Pete.
1895Disaster
A major fire destroyed much of downtown Tahlequah in 1895.
1902Architecture
In 1902, the Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway built a line into Tahlequah.
1906Government
It contained the nation's executive and legislative offices until the tribal national government was dissolved in 1906, in preparation for Oklahoma's statehood.
1907Architecture
In 1907, at the time of Oklahoma statehood, the building was converted into the Cherokee County courthouse.
1957Military
Tahlequah is featured in the Newbery Medal winning civil war novel Rifles for Watie written in 1957 by Harold Keith.
1970History
It was returned to the Cherokee Nation in 1970.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the 2010 census, there were 15,753 people, 6,111 households, and 3,351 families residing in the city.
2013History
=== American Community Survey ===
As of 2013, the median household income was $29,114 and the median family income was $43,940.