Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings
 |
WHEELOCK ACADEMY
Oklahoma
|

|
Location: McCurtain County, on a secondary road,
about 1-1/2 miles east of Millerton.
|
|
Wheelock Academy was the archetype for the tribal
school system of the Five Civilized Tribes. As the first national
academy founded under the Choctaw Nation's Education Act of 1842, it set
a precedent for some 35 academies and seminaries financed and controlled
by the five tribes. Unique in U.S. history, these schools were not
mission or Government schools, though missionaries administered many of
them under contract. They represented the commitment of the five tribes
to self-education and were basic tools of their acculturation.
At a time when the typical mission or Government
Indian school concentrated on rudimentary literacy and simple vocational
skills, the more liberally endowed tribal schools attained a high degree
of academic excellence. They attracted teachers from leading eastern
colleges and offered secondary and classical courses as well as
vocational training. Tribal Councils provided financial assistance to
the more promising graduates who wished to enter eastern colleges. Much
of the success of the Five Civilized Tribes in becoming leading citizens
of Oklahoma may be traced to their educational achievements through
their tribal school systems.
The antecedent of Wheelock Academy was a mission
school established in 1832 by Rev. Alfred Wright, representing the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the Choctaw
Indians during their removal to Indian Territory from the Southeastern
United States in 1831-34. As missionary to the Choctaws from 1820 until
1853, he helped them formulate an alphabet and published 60 books in
their language. In 1842 the tribe passed an Education Act that provided
for a system of academies and seminaries financed and maintained by the
tribe but administered by missionaries under contract.
The tribe chose the Wheelock school because it was
already flourishing; it had been so successful that in 1839 Wright had
built a two-story frame dormitory to accommodate the influx of boarding
students. The tribe hired Wright to run the school and recruit teachers.
He held the position until his death in 1853. Wheelock Academy was one
of several boarding schools for girls established by the Choctaws, who
set up other boarding institutions for boys. The school became a model
of Indian education, its curriculum providing a judicious blend of
cultural enlightenment and practical skills. The other Civilized Tribes
soon adopted similar programs. All of them based theirs on missionary
cooperation except the Cherokees, who decided upon direct ad
ministration.
During the Civil War, which disrupted Indian
Territory, Wheelock Academy suffered a temporary eclipse. Reinstituted
after the war, it was all but destroyed by fire in 1869. For years
instruction took place in a gutted stone church built by the Choctaws in
1845-46, and in the few fire-damaged buildings. In 1880-84, aided by the
Southern Presbyterian Church, the Choctaws rebuilt the academy. During
the ensuing years, despite changes in administration, they retained
control until 1932, the centennial anniversary of the school's founding.
That year it be came a U.S. Indian school. In 1955, after serving the
Choctaw people for 123 years, it closed.
The academy is owned and administered by the Choctaw
Nation. The main historic building, the Old Seminary, a two-story frame
structure built in the early 1880's, is basically sound but is in poor
condition. Scores of other structures are of historical interest. A
custodian in the employ of the Bureau of Indian Affairs maintains the
grounds. About 200 yards from the academy are the original stone church
and a cemetery, both owned by the Southern Presbyterian Church and still
in use. The cemetery contains the graves of several students and
teachers, including Reverend Wright.
NHL Designation: 12/21/65
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/soldier-brave/siteb28.htm
Last Updated: 19-Aug-2005
|