Old Spencer Academy

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.”