This memorial marker is located in Oaks Cemetery in Oaks, OK.
New Springplace
"God's Acre"
The New Springplace mission was established
by the Moravian Church in 1842. New Springplace
was the second Moravian mission station in the
Indian Territory after the forced removal of the
Cherokees on the Trail of Tears from the East.
The Moravians named the mission New Springplace
after the original mission in Georgia. The mission
buildings were on the hillside just north of this location.
Brother Boas a Cherokee member of the Moravian
Church was the first burial in the New Springplace
graveyard. He died October 9 or 10, 1844 In a written
letter to Salem, North Carolina, Rev David Z Smith
tells of the death of Brother Boas. His remains
were interred at a little distance behind the garden
at Springplace where a site was selected by the
Brn (Brethren) for a future burial ground.
Moravians call their graveyard "God's Acre".
Brother Aucustus G Fogle described the New
Springplace graveyard in his travel diary for
June 28 1854. There are 33 graves in a row,
3 of which are missionaries wives. Twenty-nine
of those burials were recorded in the Moravian
records. Those names and dates are on the
reverse side of this memorial stone.
An asterisk (*) preceding a name indicates that
the person came on the forced removal of the
Cherokees from the East.
Erected in 2010 by
Cherokee Moravian Historical Association
The Goingsnake District Heritage Association
The Oklahoma Chapter Trail of Tears Association
