(MURRAY, Ky.) — The Jackson Purchase Historical Society will kick off its 2026 programming with a presentation on Choctaw history and culture at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 17, at the Calloway County Public Library, 710 Main Street in Murray.
Steven Hunter, author of “Oklama (My People): The Story of Our Choctaw Ancestors and People,” will discuss his book, which chronicles important figures, traditions, and aspects of Choctaw life both past and present. Drawing from memories of his own Choctaw childhood and family, Hunter’s work seeks to preserve history and heritage that might otherwise be lost to time.
“The JPHS is pleased to have Steven Hunter as our speaker as we begin a new year of programs,” said JPHS President Bill Mulligan. “One of our principal goals is to present the full spectrum of our history and this program will bring much forward that is not well-known.”
Hunter serves as pastor at the Glendale Road Church of Christ in Murray and is active in several community organizations, including the Murray Rotary Club. He holds a PhD from Faulkner University.
The Jackson Purchase Historical Society was founded in 1958 by a group of historians led by faculty from Murray State University and the University of Tennessee-Martin. The organization promotes interest, study, and preservation of regional history in the territory acquired through the Treaty of Tuscaloosa, known as the Jackson Purchase.
The society holds several meetings annually featuring speakers on Jackson Purchase history and publishes an award-winning journal on local history. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the area’s history.
More information about the society and Jackson Purchase history is available at jacksonpurchasehistoricalsociety.org. Free electronic access to back issues of the journal through 2023 is available through Murray State University Libraries at https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/jphs/.
The society welcomes article submissions for future journal issues. Manuscripts can be sent to editor Bill Mulligan at billmulligan@murray-ky.net. Copies of the journal are available from the Jackson Purchase Historical Society, P.O. Box 531, Murray, KY 42071, for $15.90 including postage and sales tax.
