Explore the real-world places that appear in Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Billy Colman's Family Farm, Tahlequah, Grandfather's General Store, Kennel Where Billy Buys the Pups, Illinois River Bottoms and 5 more.
Ozark foothills near Tahlequah — the Colman homestead
Ten-year-old Billy Colman lives here with his Papa, Mama, and three little sisters. Billy dreams of owning two coonhounds and prays and works for them. His grandfather later helps him when Papa's farm life limits the family's means. The farm is the emotional anchor of the whole story, and the family eventually leaves it for town so the girls can attend school.
The Cherokee Nation lands of northeastern Oklahoma were settled by Cherokee people after the Trail of Tears and later by homesteading families. Wilson Rawls grew up in this Ozark region during the Depression era, farming and hunting as a child.
The area is rural farmland and woodland, mostly private property. The setting is best appreciated by driving the roads near the Illinois River valley.
Cherokee County seat — the nearest town in Billy's world
Billy walks to the town to see the store and to pick up the hounds. His journey to the town to collect the pups from the kennel, and his trading, are the high point of his early dream. Billy's grandfather runs the general store here, and it is there that Billy learns how to proceed in his hunts and how he earns money.
Tahlequah became the capital of the Cherokee Nation in 1839 after the Trail of Tears. It remains the capital of the Cherokee Nation today.
Tahlequah is a lively college town, home to Northeastern State University and the Cherokee Nation headquarters. Visitors can explore the historic downtown and Cherokee heritage sites.
Visit: Tahlequah Downtown Historic District (landmark)
Local trading post — where Billy gets his hounds' help
Billy's grandfather runs the store, where Billy sells his furs and fish and saves his coins. In the story, Grandpa helps Billy by arranging the coon-hunting trip and is pivotal when Billy enters the championship hunt. The store is where Billy first feels the community's respect for his dogs.
General stores like this were centers of rural commerce in Oklahoma in the early twentieth century, trading goods for furs and farm produce.
No single building survives as the store. The Tahlequah downtown area retains historic storefronts that evoke the period.
Railway depot area — Tahlequah, where the pups arrive
After two years of saving fifty dollars from selling berries, fish, and bait, Billy travels to town to collect his two redbone coonhound pups, Old Dan and Little Ann. On the way home, he is cornered by town boys and fights fiercely to protect his pups. Their friendship begins in earnest on the long walk home.
Rural depots and mail stations were the gateway for ordering livestock and dogs through magazine advertisements in the early twentieth century.
The depot area is part of the modern town footprint and is not a specific attraction.
River valley hunting grounds — where Billy and his hounds hunt
The river bottoms are the arena of the hunting adventures. Old Dan and Little Ann track coons through sycamores and thick undergrowth, and Billy learns patience, skill, and trust. The hounds' remarkable abilities soon become legendary throughout the Cherokee hills.
The Illinois River winds through the Ozark foothills of eastern Oklahoma, shaping the land's bottomlands and forests. It was long used by Cherokee and settlers for fishing and hunting.
The Illinois River is a popular scenic river for float trips, camping, and fishing, with outfitters operating near Tahlequah.
Visit: Illinois River Float Trips (tour)
Hunting grounds — the legendary ghost coon
The hounds chase the elusive ghost coon up an enormous sycamore, where Billy, unable to climb, tries to cut it down in a desperate effort. Little Ann and Old Dan wait faithfully while he struggles for hours, and Billy's frustration turns to determination. A river-bottom legend begins here.
Sycamores are large native trees that line the Ozark streams, often reaching massive size and hollowing with age.
Mature sycamores can still be seen along the Illinois River and its tributaries, though the specific tree is fictional.
Tahlequah region — the big coon-hunting competition
Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann enter the annual coon-hunt championship, competing for a gold cup and prize money. Through a blizzard, the hounds' perseverance wins the title, and Billy also saves Rubin Pritchard's life during the rough competition. The victory secures Billy's reputation and brings his family joy.
Coon hunting contests were popular rural events in the Ozarks, celebrating hounds and woodcraft. The tradition remains part of rural American culture.
Coonhound competitions continue around the Ozarks, though the specific championship is fictional.
Ozark ridges — the tragic hunt
In the novel's heartbreaking climax, a mountain lion attacks Billy while he hunts with his hounds. Old Dan and Little Ann fight to save him, and Old Dan is mortally wounded. Little Ann soon dies of a broken heart, leaving Billy devastated.
Mountain lions once lived throughout the Ozarks but were largely extirpated by the early twentieth century.
The Ozark woodlands remain forested and hunt-friendly, though mountain lions are extremely rare in the area.
Colman farm hillside — the red fern
Billy buries Old Dan and Little Ann together on a hill near the family home. Months later, a sacred red fern grows over their graves, which Billy's father tells him according to Native legend is planted by an angel and marks a place of sacred beauty. Billy leaves with deep sorrow but also peace.
The red fern legend is a fictional Cherokee-inspired legend invented for the novel, though it draws on Native American storytelling traditions.
The location is fictional and not marked on any map, but the novel's emotional memorial lives on in readers' hearts.
Tahlequah — literary heritage of Rawls
Rawls drew on his boyhood memories of the Cherokee hills in writing the novel, creating Billy's story as a tribute to the dogs he loved. The book became a beloved children's classic that shaped generations of readers' views of devotion and loss.
Wilson Rawls (1913-1984) grew up in the Cherokee Nation region of Oklahoma and wrote the novel after years of drifting work. It was published in 1961 and later adapted into two films.
Tahlequah and nearby Oklahoma communities celebrate the novel with local events, and the Tahlequah Public Library carries Rawls's works for visitors interested in the story.
Visit: Tahlequah Public Library (library)
More by Wilson Rawls: All Wilson Rawls books
Other nearby maps: True Grit by Charles Portis locations map · Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith locations map · The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard locations map · The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton locations map