According to Federal land appraisals, the land surrounding the Pineville community in Delaware County, Oklahoma, was "unfit for any use," but to the Cherokee who lived there it was a land of plenty. In 1875 Cherokee families constructed a log meeting house, which served first as a church and became a school in 1893. The 1880 Cherokee Census indicated the presence of 107 tribal schools; a high degree of literacy, with half the people speaking English; and farming as the main occupation. In 1899 the Board of Education published "Instructions to the Directors and Teachers of the Primary Schools of the Cherokee Nation." Two more schools were built near Pineville in 1904 and 1907, and by 1908 nearly all of Delaware County's 64 schools districts had a school in operation. During the Great Depression, Cherokees continued to live off the land. In 1937 a community house was built where the Indian Farm Women's club met twice a week to quilt and sew. They also canned thousands of quarts of fruit and vegetables, held holiday events, and had singing conventions. By 1939 their Oak Hill school reached the highest academic rating. A report for 1940-41 listed 17 community projects sponsored by the school. Community members and students chopped wood, grew a garden, butchered pigs, and canned food for the school. Cherokee volunteered for both World Wars, and during World War II the schoolchildren sold War Stamps. Descendants of the first families still live in the community, where they are restoring an old school for community use. (Contains 31 references.) (TD)