Butler Celebrates Donation of Cherokee Trail Research, Historical Marker

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On Thursday, April 25, Butler Community College held a reception for Dr. Jack and Pat Fletcher to celebrate the donation of their years of Cherokee Trail research to the college, and the installation of a historical marker on campus recognizing the trail’s importance to the area and its crossing of Butler’s El Dorado campus.  

Once thought to be a minor trail due to the lack of primary source material, the Fletchers spent the last 25 years travelling and researching the 900-mile Cherokee Trail with the mission of seeing it designated as a National Historic Trail. Now their research will be housed in the Butler Libraries and Archives and available to other researchers.

“[We’re] honored to be recipients of this knowledge,” Butler President Dr. Kim Krull said of the Fletchers’ collection of first-person diaries and other accounts. “April is National Community College Month, and it’s rare for a community college to be the recipient of such a wealth of research, so we’re really excited to have this archived in our library.”

Reflecting on not just his life’s work but his wife’s, Dr. Jack Fletcher spoke of their aspirations for the collection now that it has a permanent home. “It’s our hope that the research will grow and grow, and [that] future generations will benefit. I hope it will be celebrated for a long time.”

Members of Friends of the Cherokee Trail, a local group founded in 2013, assisted the Fletchers with their work in Kansas. The group’s former President, Brian Stucky, spoke at the reception about the significance of the event held in Butler’s R.D. Hubbard Welcome Center. “We're on the trail right here in this building,” said Stucky, explaining the trail cuts through the Clifford / Stone Conference Room they were gathered in.

To recognize the intersection of the Cherokee Trail and Butler’s El Dorado campus, Friends of the Cherokee Trail members Bob and Linda Andersen collaborated with the College to place a historical marker outside the Hubbard Welcome Center. “We’re honored to have the sign out in front of this community building where hundreds of people will be able to see it,” said Krull.

The work of cataloging the collection falls to Ronald Rozzell, Butler Community College’s archivist. Rozzell says Butler will play an important role in making people aware of the trail. “This trail and its history have been greatly understudied and recognized, and Butler can help spread the word,” he said. Rozzell plans for the research to be available by August of this year. To access the collection, contact him at [email protected] or 316-322-2138.