CHEROKEE ROSE LEGEND
In the 1800's, despite a decision in favor of the Cherokees by the Supreme Court,
President Andrew Jackson ordered the removal of the Cherokees and other Indian
Tribes from their Eastern Homelands to Oklahoma, a journey later referred to as the
"TRAIL OF TEARS". About four thousand people died along the way.
Indian folklore states that "god, looking down from heaven, decided to commemorate
the courageous Cherokees, As the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens
fell to the ground, they were turned to stones in the shape of a rose".
The Rose Rock is found in Oklahoma, the end of the journey. The State Flower of
Georgia, the tribe's eastern home, is the Cherokee Rose.
Official State Rock of Oklahoma: Rose Rock
Oklahoma rose stone was formed during the Permian Period, 250 million years
ago, when western and central Oklahoma was covered by a shallow sea. As the
sea retreated, barite precipitated out of the water and crystallized around grains
of quartz sand. This left behind large formation of reddish sandstone, locally
called Garber Sandstone, containing deposits of rose rock.
The beauty of God's wonder abounds in the state of Oklahoma.
From the selenite of the northwest, the barite rose rock of the
central part of the state, to the southeastern quartz crystals,
collectors seek these hidden treasures. Rose rocks are
sought after and prized worldwide because of their
beautiful rose-like appearance.
The Rose Rock
Within the Garber Sandstone,
A Barite Crystal Grew,
The Oklahoma Sand
Gave it a Reddish Hue.
Seawater Bathed it; and,
As a Flower Grows,
God Formed its Shape
Into a Lovely Rose.
Nancy Ann Stine ©1977
A Rose is a Rose, is a Rose, is a Rose
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