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Wheelock Academy was the model academy for the
Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...
' academies. It was started as a missionary school for
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
girls, and is still owned by the Choctaw nation. The school closed in 1955 and the only remaining Choctaw school, Jones Academy, became
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
. The site is located east of Millerton in
McCurtain County, Oklahoma McCurtain County is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,814. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian ...
. It is administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. ational Register of Historic Places Inventory Form, Wheelock Academy, November 7, 1978.Accessed August 16, 2015.


History

In 1832 the Academy was initiated by
Alfred Wright Alfred Cecil Wright (born 21 1848 Leamington Spa; died 7 January 1909 Nelson) was an Anglican priest in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. Wright was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and ...
, a physician and Presbyterian missionary who co-founded the nearby Wheelock Church. He and his wife, Harriet Wright, had travelled with the Choctaw tribe when they were expelled from their previous homeland in the southeastern United States and forced to emigrate to Indian Territory. He named the school after
Eleazar Wheelock Eleazar Wheelock (April 22, 1711 – April 24, 1779) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregational minister, orator, and educator in present-day Columbia, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in ...
, founder of Moor's Indian School, later known as Dartmouth College. Within a year, the Superintendent of the Choctaw Agency reported that Wheelock Academy had become a model for Indian education. In 1839, Wright expanded the school by building a large dormitory to accommodate boarding students. The institution he founded became the first Choctaw national academy in 1842. Alfred died March 31, 1853. Reverend John Edwards was asked to replace him as the head of the school. Harriet left the mission within a year because of ill health. She died in Florida in 1863.Lona Eaton Miller, "Wheelock Mission," ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''
Accessed August 19, 2015.


Impact of the Civil War

Wheelock Academy was closed during the Civil War (1861 - 1865). The American Board of Missions had ordered Rev. Edwards to close the school and the church and return to the North.


Rebuilding

Libby's wife had been a student at Wheelock before the war. The couple maintained the buildings and continued to operate the facility as a day school, until a fire in 1869 destroyed many of the buildings. Classes resumed in some of the less damaged buildings. The Choctaw Nation rebuilt the facility in 1880 - 1884, with assistance from the Southern Presbyterian Church. Although the Presbyterian Home Missions Board and the Federal Government became involved in administering the school, it remained owned and financially supported by the Choctaw Nation. The Choctaw Council created a National School Board in 1882. The board decided to rebuild the damaged and destroyed buildings and operate Wheelock as a boarding school for girls. John Edwards returned to teach at an academy near Boggy Depot, since his wife had died in 1881 in California. Edwards married a Wheelock teacher, Constance Hunter. The National School Board asked him to return to Wheelock as superintendent in 1884. Instead, he asked them to find another superintendent because he was in poor health. He remained as a mentor until the end of the 1886-87 school year. Rev. William C. Robe was selected as the next superintendent. He elected to retire in 1890, and was succeeded by his son, J. C. Robe. Beginning in 1890, Wheelock Seminary operated as a "contract school", meaning that the school operated using tribal funds, but staff and superintendents were provided by the American Board of Missionaries.


Curriculum

Children attending the Choctaw academies were ten to sixteen years old. When the boarding schools for females first opened, the girls were taught given English names and told that all instruction would be in English. They were forbidden to use their native language while they were at the school. The curriculum included sewing, making clothing and doing household chores. They also learned business skills, reading, writing and spelling in the English language. Additional courses included Arithmetic, music, and geography were also taught, and in some schools pupils learned algebra, geometry, U.S. history, chemistry, philosophy, botany, astronomy, painting, drawing, and Latin grammar."Choctaw Education After Removal." Native American Netroots.
2011. Accessed August 19, 2011.


Closure of tribal schools

The 1898
Curtis Act The Curtis Act of 1898 was an amendment to the United States Dawes Act; it resulted in the break-up of tribal governments and communal lands in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory: the Choctaw, Chickasa ...
had required the gradual closure of all tribal schools, as well as the disestablishments of tribal governments before statehood would be granted. By 1930, Wheelock and the Jones Academy in
Hartshorne, Oklahoma Hartshorne (pronounced "Hearts-orn") is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the third largest city in the county. The population was 1,947 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Description The community was named ...
were the only remaining Choctaw schools. In 1932, Wheelock became a United States Indian School. In 1955, its functions were merged with Jones Academy, and the Wheelock site was closed permanently.


NRHP listing

The site was declared a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1965. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.


Present condition

Only seven buildings remain standing, most in deteriorated condition. Although the local people maintain the grounds, and one building, the former LeFlore Hall, has been turned into a museum.Visit Talimena National Scenic Byway: Wheelock Academy."
Accessed August 19, 2015.
In 1999, a news program noted that Delton Cox, treasurer of the Choctaw Nation was leading a project to restore the old academy. By then, all of the remaining buildings had been painted and reroofed, at a cost of $70,000. Complete restoration has been estimated to cost $3 million. Cox said that the Choctaw Nation would like to turn the restored facility into a college (which would be the first tribal-owned college in Oklahoma). ewsok.com/article/2659298 Jackson, Ron. "Choctaw Nation Works To Restore Historic School. " NewsOK.July 4, 1999. Accessed August 19, 2015. A 2001 report to Congress, ''National Historic Landmarks at the Millennium'', listed Wheelock Academy as one of the "Threatened Landmarks in America". The report specifically cited deterioration, looting and vandalism as specific threats.''National Historic Landmarks at the Millennium''. A Report to Congress 2000-2001. p. 14.
Accessed August 20, 2015.


See also

* Wheelock Church, listed on the National Register *
List of National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma The List of National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma contains the landmarks designated by the U.S. Federal Government for the U.S. state of Oklahoma. There are 22 National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma. The following table is a complete list. ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in McCurtain County, Oklahoma


References


Notes


External links


Wheelock Academy, Choctaw Nation, at OK Gen Web
{{NRHP in McCurtain County, Oklahoma Educational institutions established in 1832 Educational institutions disestablished in 1955 1832 establishments in Indian Territory Choctaw National Historic Landmarks in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in McCurtain County, Oklahoma Defunct schools in Oklahoma Native American boarding schools in Oklahoma Native American schools in Oklahoma School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma National Register of Historic Places in McCurtain County, Oklahoma Native American history of Oklahoma Defunct Native American boarding schools