Historical Marker Program

Old Spencer Academy

Choctaw County
Location: on grounds of old Spencer Academy, 8 miles north of Sawyer
Coordinates: 34.145919, -95.357897
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Arts; Education; Ethnic Diversity; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Spencer Academy opened at this location in January 1844. This noted school for Choctaw boys, established by the Choctaw Council, was named for John C. Pencer, US Secretary of War. Subjects through high school were taught. The first graduates went to eastern colleges in 1848. Large buildings were erected in a quadrangle here including Jones Hall, Pitchlynn Hall, Armstrong Hall, a school building and dining hall, with houses for employees, storehouses and barns adjacent. It was here that the spirituals “Steal Away to Jesus,” “Roll, Jordon Roll,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” were composed. “Uncle” Wallis and “Aunt” Minerva Willis, spiritual composers, were enslaved in the Choctaw Nation and hired out by their owner to work for school superintendent Rev. Alexander Reid. Also see “Spencer Academy.”

Note: This marker incorrectly identifies Wallace and Minerva Willis as husband and wife when, in fact, they were father and daughter.

Spencer Academy

Choctaw County
Location: on US-70 east of Sawyer
Coordinates: 34.017945, -95.364481
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Arts; Education; Ethnic Diversity; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

A noted school for boys, Spencer Academy was established by the Choctaw Nation in 1841 and named for Secretary of War John C. Spencer. Students who were later prominent Choctaw leaders included Coleman E. Nelson, Allen Wright, Jackson McCurtain, Charles S. Vinson, B. F. Smallwood, Jefferson Gardner, Simon T. Dwight, Eliphalet N. Wright, and Homer Davis.