Chahta Tamaha

Chahta Tamaha means Choctaw Town. Armstrong Academy was a school for Choctaw boys, its site chosen for a spring strong enough to run a gristmill, and a brick building replaced the first log ones in the late 1850s; attendance reached about 100 in 1859. The school closed when the war began and part of it served as a Confederate hospital. After the capital moved to Tuskahoma in 1883 the academy reopened for orphaned boys. It burned in February 1921, the federal government declined to rebuild, and only rubble remains on the pasture.

What the plaque says

Chahta Tamaha Armstrong Academy, established by Choctaw Nation and named for Wm. Armstrong, Indian Agt., was opened in 1845. Rev. R.D. Potts, Supt. under Baptist Miss. Soc. Post office established Nov., 1850. Confederate capitol during Civil War. Choctaw capitol, 1863- 1883. Noted chiefs there includ- ed Peter P. Pitchlynn, Allen Wright and Jackson McCurtain. Oklahoma Historical Society 180-1995

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Choctaw Cultural Center — 17 mi
  The Choctaw Nation's history told from the Chahta side at Calera, with galleries from Nanih Waiya to the Trail of Tears and the reservation today, a living village and daily stickball.

More markers nearby

• Durant — 14 mi
• Nail's Crossing — 17 mi
• Fort McCulloch — 18 mi
• Fisher's Station — 19 mi