The Roots of a Red Fern: Wilson Rawls and the Heart of Cherokee County
- gwy411
- Nov 5, 2025
- 4 min read
On the banks of the Illinois River, where mist settles between the Ozark hills and the sound of coonhounds once echoed through the night, a quiet boy from Cherokee County dreamed of becoming a writer. His name was Wilson Rawls, and though few could have imagined it at the time, his story would come to define rural Oklahoma for generations of readers.
