Jesse Chisholm Grave and Monument

A granite monument stands on the bluff above Jesse Chisholm’s grave. It says:

Born in Tennessee in 1805 of Scottish and Cherokee descent, Jesse Chisholm came to Indian Territory in the 1820s. For 40 years he operated trading posts near Asher, Purcell, Watonga and Okla. City. Also a guide, freighter, interpreter, salt works owner and peacemaker, few men in the territories were so well known by the Indian. Due to this, part of his freighting route became known as the Chisholm Trail. He died on March 4, 1868, after eating bear meat cooked in a copper kettle, and was buried near Left Hand Spring, allotment of his old friend Chief Left Hand, NE of present Geary. The inscription on his grave, “No one left his home cold or hungry,” is a tribute to the character of this rugged individual.

– Okla. Historical Society 1976