Old Spencer Academy

Spencer was one of six boarding schools the Choctaw General Council created by law in 1842, with Fort Coffee Academy and the Koonsha, Ianubbee, Chuwahla and Wheelock female seminaries. Every one of them closed for the Civil War, and Spencer was used as a hospital. Spencer reopened in 1871, and fire came for it twice, in 1896 and again in 1900. By then the Curtis Act of 1898 had put all Choctaw Nation schools under federal control, and the boarding schools closed one by one until only Jones Academy and Wheelock remained in 1930.

What the plaque says

Old Spencer Academy Opened Here in January 1844 This noted school for Choctaw boys, established by the Choctaw Council, was named for John C. Spencer, U.S Secretary of War. Subjects through High School were taught. The first graduates went to eastern colleges in 1848. Large build- ings were erected in a quadrangle here including Jones Hall, Pitchlynn Hall, Arm- strong Hall, a school building and dining hall, with houses for employee, storehou- ses and barns adjacent. It was here at Old Spencer Academy that "Steal Away to Jesus," "Roll, Jordon Roll," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," spirituals now sung throughout America, were composed by the old Negro, Uncle Wallace who first sang them with his wife, Aunt Minerva to the delight of all who heard them. The two old slaves were hired out by their owner to work for the Reb. Alexander Reid, Sup- erintendent of Spencer Academy 1851-61.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Towson Historic Site — 9.9 mi
  The 1824 Red River post where arriving Choctaw and Chickasaw families were dispersed after removal, beside the site of Doaksville, the Choctaw capital where Stand Watie surrendered in 1865.
• Wheelock Academy Historic Site — 24 mi
  The Choctaw Nation's academy for girls, rebuilt in 1884 near Millerton and a boarding school until 1955, with its museum in the old teachers' dormitory.

More markers nearby

• Goodwater Choctaw Mission/Koonsha Female Seminary — 8.8 mi
• Spencer Academy — 8.9 mi
• Doaksville — 9.2 mi
• Stand Watie's Surrender — 9.2 mi