While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
10. All towns in the Creek Nation having a present population of two hundred or more shall, and all others may, be surveyed, laid out, and appraised under the provisions of an act of Congress entitled "An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
and one, and for other purposes," approved May thirty-first, nineteen hundred, which said provisions are as follows :
That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by him, to survey, lay out, and plat into town lots, streets, alleys, and parks the sites of such towns and villages in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee nations, as may at that time have a population of two hundred or more, in such manner as will best subserve the then present needs and the reasonable prospective growth of such
towns. The work of surveying, laying out, and platting such town sites shall be done by competent surveyors, who shall prepare five copies of the plat of each town site, which, when the survey is approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be filed as follows : One in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, one with the principal chief of the nation, one with the clerk of the court within the territorial jurisdiction of which
the town is located, one with the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, and one with the town authorities, if there be such. Where in his judgment the best interests of the public service require, the Secretary of the Interior may secure the surveying, laying out, and platting of town sites in any of said nations by contract.
Hereafter the work of the respective town-site commissions provided for in the agreement with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes ratified in section twenty-nine of the act of June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled "An act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory, and for other purposes," shall begin as to any town site immediately upon the approval of the survey by the Secretary of the Interior, and
not before.
The Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, appoint a town-site commission consisting of three members for each of the Creek and Cherokee nations, at least one of whom shall be a citizen of the tribe and shall be appointed upon the nomination of the principal chief of the tribe. Each commission, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall appraise and sell for the benefit of the tribe the town lots in the nation
for which it is appointed, acting in conformity with the provisions of any then existing act of Congress or agreement with the tribe approved by Congress. The agreement of any two members of the commission as to the true value of any lot shall constitute a determination thereof, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and if no two members are able to agree the matter shall be determined by such Secretary.
Where in his judgment the public interests will be thereby subserved, the Secretary of the Interior may appoint in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee Nation a separate town-site commission for any town, in which event as to that town such local com mission may exercise the same authority and perform the same duties which would other wise devolve upon the commission for that nation. Every such local commission shall be appointed in
the manner provided in the act approved June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled "An act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory."
The Secretary of the Interior, where in his judgment the public interests will be thereby subserved, may permit the authorities of any town in any of said nations, at the expense of the town, to survey, lay out, and plat the site thereof, subject to his supervision and approval, as in other instances.
As soon as the plat of any town site is approved, the proper commission shall with all reasonable dispatch and within a limited time, to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, proceed to make the appraisement of the lots and improvements, if any, thereon, and after the approval thereof by the Secretary of the Interior, shall, under the supervision of such Secretary, proceed to the disposition and sale of the lots in conformity with
then existing act of Congress or agreement with the tribe approved by Congress, and if the proper commission shall not complete such appraisement and sale within the time limited by the Secretary of the Interior, they shall receive no pay for such additional time as may be taken by them, unless the Secretary of the Interior for good cause shown shall expressly direct otherwise.
The Secretary of the Interior may, for good cause, remove any member of any town-site commission, tribal or local, in any of said nations, and may fill the vacancy thereby made or any vacancy otherwise occurring in like manner as the place was originally filled.
It shall not be required that the town-site limits established in the course of the plat ting and disposing of town lots and the corporate limits of the town, if incorporated, shall be identical or coextensive, but such town-site limits and corporate limits shall be so established as to best subserve the then present needs and the reasonable prospective growth of the town, as the same shall appear at the times when such limits are
respectively established: Provided further, That the exterior limits of all town sites shall be designated and fixed at the earliest practicable time under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.
Upon the recommendation of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized at any time before allotment to set aside and reserve from allotment any lands in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee nations, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in any one tract, at such stations as are or shall be established in conformity with law on the line of any railroad which shall be constructed or
be in process of construction in or through either of said nations prior to the allotment of the lands therein, and this irrespective of the population of such town site at the time. Such town sites shall be surveyed, laid out, and platted, and the lands therein disposed of for the benefit of the tribe in the manner herein prescribed for other town sites : Provided further, That whenever any tract of land shall be set aside as herein pro
vided which is occupied by a member of the tribe, such occupant shall be fully compensated for his improvements thereon under such rules and regulations as may be pre scribed by the Secretary of the Interior : Provided, That hereafter the Secretary of the Interior may, whenever the chief executive or principal chief of said nation fails or refuses to appoint a town-site commissioner for any town or to fill any vacancy caused by the neglect
or refusal of the town-site commissioner appointed by the chief executive or principal chief of said nation to qualify or act, in his discretion, appoint a commissioner to fill the vacancy thus created.
11. Any person in rightful possession of any town lot having improvements thereon, other than temporary buildings, fencing, and tillage, shall have the right to purchase such lot by paying one-half of the appraised value thereof, but if he shall fail within sixty days to purchase such lot and make the first payment thereon, as herein provided, the lot and improvements shall be sold at public auction to the highest bidder, under
direction of the appraisement commission, at a price not less than their appraised value, and the purchaser shall pay the purchase price to the owner of the improvements, less the appraised value of i in let.
12. Any person having the right of occupancy of a residence or business lot, or both, in any town, whether improved or not, and owning no other lot or land therein, shall have the right to purchase such lot by paying one-half of the appraised value thereof.
13. Any person holding lands within a town occupied by him as a home, also any person who had at the time of signing this agreement purchased any lot, tract, or parcel of land from any person in legal possession at the time, shall have the right to purchase the lot embraced in same by paying one-half of the appraised value thereof, not, however, exceeding four acres.
14. All town lots not having thereon improvements, other than temporary buildings, fencing, and tillage, the sale or disposition of which is not herein other wise specifically provided for, shall be sold within twelve months after their appraisement, under direction of the Secretary of the Interior, after due advertisement, at public auction to the highest bidder at not less than their appraised value.
Any person having the right of occupancy of lands in any town which has been or may be laid out into town lots, to be sold at public auction as above, shall have the right to purchase one-fourth of all the lots into which such lands may have been divided at two-thirds of their appraised value.
15. When the appraisement of any town lot is made, upon which any person has improvements as aforesaid, said appraisement commission shall notify him of the amount of said appraisement, and he shall, within sixty days thereafter, make payment of ten per centum of the amount due for the lot, as herein pro vided, and four months thereafter he shall pay fifteen per centum additional and the remainder of the purchase money in three equal
annual installments, without interest.
Any person who may purchase an unimproved lot shall proceed to make payment for same in such time and manner as herein provided for the payment of sums due on improved lots, and if in any case any amount be not paid when due, it shall thereafter bear interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum until paid. The purchaser may in any case at any time make full payment for any town lot.
16. All town lots purchased by citizens in accordance with the provisions of this agreement shall be free from incumbrance by any debt contracted prior to date of his deed there for, except for improvements thereon.
17. No taxes shall be assessed by any town government against any town lot remaining unsold, but taxes may be assessed against any town lot sold as herein provided, and the same shall constitute a lien upon the interest of the purchaser therein after any payment thereon has been made by him, and if forfeiture of any lot be made all taxes assessed against such lot shall be paid out of any money paid thereon by the purchaser.
18. The surveyors may select and locate a cemetery within suitable distance from each town, to embrace such number of acres as may be deemed necessary for such purpose, and the appraisement commission shall appraise the same at not less than twenty dollars per acre, and the town may purchase the land by paying the appraised value thereof; and if any citizen have improvement thereon, other than fencing and tillage, they shall be
appraised by said commission and paid for by the town. The town authorities shall dispose of the lots in such cemetery at reasonable prices, in suitable sizes for burial purposes, and the proceeds thereof shall be applied to the general improvement of the property.
19. The United States may purchase, in any town in the Creek Nation, suitable land for court-houses, jails, and other necessary public buildings for its use, by paying the appraised value thereof, the same to be selected under the direction of the department for whose use such buildings are to be erected ; and if any person have improvements thereon, other than temporary buildings, fencing, and tillage, the same shall be appraised
and paid for by the United States.
20. Henry Kendall College, Nazareth Institute, and Spaulding Institute, in Muskogee, may purchase the parcels of land occupied by them, or which may have been laid out for their use and so designated upon the plat of said town, at one-half of their appraised value, upon conditions herein provided; and all other schools and institutions of learning located in incorporated towns in the Creek Nation may, in like manner, purchase the
lots or parcels of land occupied by them.
21. All town lots or parts of lots, not exceeding fifty by one hundred and fifty feet in size, upon which church houses and parsonages have been erected, and which are occupied as such at the time of appraisement, shall be properly conveyed to the churches to which such improvements belong gratuitously, and if such churches have other adjoining lots enclosed, actually necessary for their use, they may purchase the same by paying
one-half the appraised value thereof.
22. The towns of Clarksville, Coweta, Gibson Station, and Mounds may be surveyed and laid out in town lots and necessary streets and alleys as other towns, each to embrace such amount of land as may be deemed necessary, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres for either, and in manner not to include or interfere with the allotment of any citizen selected prior to the date of this agreement, which survey may be made in manner
provided for other towns; and the appraisement of the town lots of said towns may be made by any committee appointed for either of the other towns hereinbefore named, and the lots in said towns may be disposed of in like manner and on the same conditions and terms as those of other towns. All of such work may be done under the direction of and subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
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Laws, Decisions and Regulations Affecting the work of the Commissioners to Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1906, Copyright 1906
