The land was once a rundown septic tank facility on the south side of Tahlequah, and it was seen as a place that should be safe for local kids. On May 12 of this year, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. stood on that same ground for the ribbon-cutting of the Wilma P. Mankiller Cherokee Capitol Park.
Twelve weeks later, on August 4, the Nation cut another ribbon nearby on the 75,000-square-foot Tahlequah Wellness Center. One summer gave Tahlequah its newest public park and its largest gym, both off South Muskogee Avenue near the tribal complex, and both open to the whole community. If your routine still runs through the old Markoma building or a park across town, it's worth a look at how much changed in a few months on the south end of town.
A Septic Site Turned Into a Park
The park sits at 18050 S. Muskogee Ave., on what Chief Hoskin called a remediated property site next to U.S. 62. The Cherokee Phoenix counted about 200 tribal citizens and Mankiller family members at the opening. Charlie Soap, a community leader and husband of the late Chief Wilma Mankiller, was among them.
Here's what's on the grounds:
- A playground
- An amphitheater
- A basketball court
- Walking paths
- A dog park
- A water feature
- A garden of heirloom and traditional medicinal plants
The Cherokee Nation's parks and recreation page lists the park as open dawn to dusk. The community building keeps weekday hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That page doesn't post any rules for the dog park. Before your first visit with the dog, call parks staff at (918) 453-5099 or email [email protected].
The garden is the part of the park with the most going on. During Cherokee National Holiday weekend, on September 5, the park hosted a Cherokee Culture, Plants and Symbology tour: a presentation followed by a walk through the garden beds. That makes it a good place to take out-of-town company. It tells a Cherokee story in plants, and the kids can wear themselves out on the playground a few steps away.
A Gym Built for Crowds It Already Had
The park gave Tahlequah somewhere new to go outdoors. The Wellness Center replaced an indoor spot many locals already used every week. The new building takes over from the Male Seminary Recreation Center, which most folks around here call Markoma.
The Cherokee Nation's own numbers show how busy the old place was:
| Markoma, at the time of the switch | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total members | More than 12,500 |
| Average monthly gym visits | More than 9,300 |
| Average monthly childcare visits | More than 840 |
| Average group-class attendance | More than 1,700 |
So the $30 million building at 22685 S. Betty Sharp Smith St. opened with thousands of regulars already on the rolls, and the Nation says it expects those numbers to grow. It stands behind the Durbin Feeling Language Center. Inside are weight and cardio space, six group exercise rooms, locker rooms with saunas and showers, two batting cages, two basketball courts, a golf simulator, an indoor walking track and a child watch area.
Funding came from the tribe's Public Health and Wellness Fund Act of 2021, which sets aside 10% of the tribe's annual third-party health insurance collections for physical and wellness programs. American Rescue Plan Act money covered part of the cost too. Tahlequah also isn't the first town to get one of these. The Mary L. (Holland) Carson Wellness Center in Stilwell signed up more than 6,700 members in its first year, and the Salina center has more than 2,600. Those are smaller towns, and Tahlequah's old center already had more members than the two of them combined.
What $20 a Month Gets a Neighbor
This is the part that matters for anyone in town who isn't a Cherokee citizen. The Wellness Center is free for Cherokee Nation citizens. Anyone else in the community can join for $20 a month, or $240 a year. In the same announcement, the Nation put the average private gym membership at more than $1,100 a year. By that measure, a non-citizen pays less than a quarter of the average private rate and gets saunas, batting cages and a golf simulator.
Signing up takes two steps. On Cherokee Public Health's membership portal, choose the "Non-Citizen Community Members" package and enter the code "wellness" to finish the application. Then pay at the front desk on your first visit.
Hours as posted:
- Monday through Friday: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
A 5 a.m. weekday opening means you can get a workout in before the drive to Muskogee or Tulsa. Weekend hours run to 9 p.m., which leaves room for a Sunday evening walk on the indoor track after the chores are done.
The evening lineup
The posted weekday group fitness schedule includes CN Fit, spin, yoga, senior fitness, core restore, cardio boxing, kickboxing, Zumba and group stretch. On the recreation side there's weekday pickleball and open court, along with a few recurring evening games:
- Monday: 3x3 "King of the Court" basketball
- Wednesday: full-court basketball
- Thursday: pickleball "King of the Court"
Neither schedule shows an effective date or a fall season label. Treat them as the current posting and check before you load up the gym bag.
The Old Building Still Has No Plan
With the gym and the park both open, the remaining open question is Markoma itself. The Cherokee Nation says it will keep the Male Seminary Recreation Center property and consider its future use. The Nation hasn't announced any reuse or redevelopment plan, so any talk around town about what's going in there is only talk until the Nation says otherwise.
There's a hint of bigger plans, too. In July, Chief Hoskin signed an executive order creating a task force to map out more wellness infrastructure across the reservation over the next decade. The Claremore health campus is also slated for its own wellness center, with construction expected to begin soon. For now, Tahlequah's part of that plan is already built: a free park open dawn to dusk at 18050 S. Muskogee Ave., and a $20-a-month gym at 22685 S. Betty Sharp Smith St. that opens at 5 a.m.
At American Pride Realty, we keep track of what opens, what closes and what's still being decided across Cherokee County, from new parks on South Muskogee to the future of buildings like Markoma. If you'd like to talk over how changes like these affect your corner of Tahlequah, or a piece of land you're thinking about, give us a call. Contact Us.
