Educate or we Perish: the Armstrong Academy’s Unique History as Part of the Choctaw Educational System

 

 

(Beginning)

 

 

Efforts to educate the Choctaws began while they were still in Mississippi.  American churches sent missionaries to the Choctaws to help civilize and Christianize them. As a result of this missionary activity, several schools were started while the Choctaws were still in Mississippi. 

 

 

The Choctaws were very desirous to have their children educated. In fact, the Choctaws placed a high priority on education before and after removal. . They saw education as the way to survive in the white man’s world which was encroaching upon them. Chief Isaac Garvin, one of the Principal Chiefs of the Choctaws after removal said, speaking of the education of Choctaws: “I say educate! educate! Or we perish!”

 

 

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 stipulated that the Choctaws were to remove to territory west of the Mississippi that would be their permanent homeland.   .

 

 

Choctaw Nation Boarding Schools

 

 

The boarding schools did not really get under way in the Choctaw Nation until the 1842 Public School Act passed by the Choctaw Council. Historian Angie Debo wrote “The Greatest step forward in Choctaw education was taken in 1842…when the Council provided for the establishment of a comprehensive system of schools”   In November of that year the Council created seven boarding schools.

 

 

In October 1843, the Council provided money for an eighth academy, the Armstrong Academy, named after U.S Agent to the Choctaws, Captain William Armstrong.

 

 

Armstrong Academy: Who Named After

Captain Armstrong was well liked by the Choctaws. Born about 1800, William Armstrong helped the Choctaws to move to their new home in Oklahoma   He was appointed as Agent to the Choctaws in 1835.   He was interested in education for the Choctaws and was a friend to them and tried to help them.  After 12 years of service to the Choctaws, he died in June, 1847 in Doaksville, Choctaw Nation.

 

 

Choctaw System of Education

(Number of students enrolled in neighborhood schools vs boarding schools, Choctaw Nation)

The Choctaws began their education system with the Academies, of which there were nine by 1850. However, the Academies could not educate all Choctaw children. Therefore a system of neighborhood, or day schools were gradually put in place. After the Civil War the number of children in the day schools far outnumbered the number in the boarding schools.

 

 

Location of the Academy

 

 

The location of the Academy was about one mile east and two miles north from the town of Bokchito in Bryan County OK.

 

 

Organization of the Academy

The academy was organized with a Superintendent as the top position, with a principal teacher the next in line, and other assistant teachers. There was also a matron and a seamstress to take care of the boys clothes. Up until the 1890’s, the Academy

had a farmer. Also, in the early days of the Academy, most of the positions were filled by missionaries.  By the end of the Academy in the twentieth Century, many of the positions were filled by the Choctaws themselves.

 

 

 

 

The First Four Superintendents

The Academy actually began classes on December 2, 1845 with 33 boys in attendance.

The first Superintendent of the Academy was Ramsey D. Potts, a Baptist Missionary who had been in charge of a mission station at Thomas in the Choctaw Nation since 1835.  Potts remained at Armstrong for eight years, leaving in early 1854.

 

 

Not much is known about the Second, third and fourth Superintendents of the Academy.  A.S. Dennison only stayed there for a few months in 1854 and then left because of illness.  Andrew G. Moffat, the principal teacher took over in August 1854 and remained until 1857, when William R. Baker came. Superintendent Baker’s most important achievement was to get the new brick building finished for the academy.

 

 

Financial

The Armstrong Academy, like the other schools in the Choctaw Nation, was funded out of the Choctaw national treasury, supplemented by donations from missionary organizations.   After 1894, the costs were paid by Choctaw Nation and after 1898 the Choctaws lost control of their income and so the Federal Government began spending their money to pay for boarding schools.

 

 

How Boys were chosen to attend

The Choctaw Council passed a law in 1853 that said that the trustees of education from each district were to select the scholars to be sent to the various schools and academies. 

 

 

“The best and brightest of the neighborhood schools shall be sent to the academies.   Source:  Laws of the Choctaw Nation, p 126-127.   

 

 

However by 1890, the county judges were given the responsibility of selecting students for the academy and they were told that selections should be made in regard to those who are the neediest. 

 

 

Enrollment

 

 

 Enrollment at the Armstrong Academy went from 33 in 1846 to 59 by 1849. In 1883 the capacity of the school was put at 50 boys, but it didn’t stay there. By 1897 the attendance was 75 boys; by 1913 enrollment was 120 and by 1917 the academy had it highest enrollment of 142, with a capacity of 120.

 

 

Ages of Pupils at the Academy

The Choctaw Council in 1842 had set the ages of boys in the two boys Academies at between 10 to 16 years of age, and so it is assumed that the age for boys at the Armstrong Academy were the same.  After the Civil War there were no restrictions as to age at the Academy, and some were as old as twenty, and the regular course of study took five years, but could take longer or shorter at the discretion of the Choctaw Board of Education.

 

 

 

 

Curriculum

One of the biggest concerns of early education attempts of the boys at Armstrong Academy and other boarding schools was to get them to learn English. So there were classes in spelling and reading. Also a concern of the early missionary teachers was to convert the boys to Christianity. 

 

 

 

One of the first glimpses into what was being taught at the Academy came from a report written September 1, 1846 to Agent Armstrong by the Rev. P.P. Brown, teacher at the academy.  He said that all students “have been engaged principally in reading and spelling” and “22 have learned to write. 19 since the first of June have studied Emerson’s First Part North American Arithmetic” Rev. Brown also indicated that the students were using McGuffey’s First and Second readers,  By August 1848, the school had been divided into eight classes.    By 1857 the subjects being taught were: spelling, reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, English grammar, philosophy, and astronomy.

 

 

 Superintendent Potts felt that the schools in the Choctaw Nation should teach the students until they were ready for the “common business transactions of life”, and that was as far as the schools of the Choctaw nation should go. He thought that if the boys could be taught “farming [based] upon scientific principles, as well as to make and repair the necessary tools” that that would be of great benefit to the nation.  

 

 

Potts seems to have much praise for the work of the students. He wrote “The capacity of the students for receiving instruction is equal to that of the whites, and they have exhibited a commendable improvement in every branch studied.”

 

 

In the later years of the Academy, the boys were still being taught basic academics.  In 1889, Superintendent Lloyd gave a report about the students and what they were studying. The students were divided into a primary department studying reading, spelling, arithmetic, writing, geography. The advanced department studied scripture reading, moral philosophy, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, and U.S. history. In 1896 the boys were taught the basics and world history and orthography

 

 

The instruction at the school remained academic in nature until 1910, when it was changed, presumably by the Federal Government, to an industrial school. As early as 1899, military drilling was a part of the curriculum. 

 

 

Farming

That the boys at Armstrong were to be engaged in manual labor is clear from the reports from Bureau of Indian Affairs. Rev Potts explained it this way  “Every day’s experience goes to strengthen me in the belief that schools conducted on the manual labor system are the only ones that will eventually benefit the Indians much.” He wrote in 1848 that “the blending of labor with education is a great corrector of …evil. It is, therefore, important that the habits of industry should be inculcated among the Indians.”

 

 

Potts wasted no time in getting the boys to work. During the first term he had the boys

“clearing land and cultivating the farm.  He had a field of  50 acres …. cultivated in corn by them, in addition to a garden and three acres of sweet potatoes. …. The time devoted each day to labor has been about 2 or 21/2 hours.”

 

 

 Superintendent  Baker  wrote in 1857, “I have about eighty acres in corn, which will make about twenty-five bushels per acre; have raised about sixty pork hogs; the stock of cattle are doing well.”

 

 

During the Civil War it was unlikely that crops were planted at the Academy, and while the Academy was the Choctaw Capital, the state of the Academy farm is unknown. The farm was probably resumed in 1883 when the Academy became a school for orphan boys.

 

 

By 1890 the Academy farm had about 130 acres in cultivation. However the crop was almost an entire failure because the fencing around the crops was in bad shape and the cattle got into the crop. Another reason for the failure, Rev. C. J. Ralston reported, is the dry weather. The farm at this time had about 33 head of cattle, and 130 head of hogs.

By 1892 things had improved to the point that Ralston reported that they “raised a fine crop of corn.”  By 1912 it was being reported that there were dairy herds at Armstrong and also new orchards.  

 

 

 

 

Effect of the Civil War

The Civil War disrupted the normal life in the Choctaw Nation, and the running of the academies. It is assumed that the Armstrong Academy finished out the 1860-1861 year, but after that, it was likely closed and maybe was vacant in the 1862 year. In October 1863 an amendment to the Constitution of the Choctaw Nation was passed, declaring that “the seat of government shall be permanently fixed at Armstrong Academy, and shall be called and known as Chahta Tamaha,”   Muriel H Wright reported that during the Civil War that-- Confederate Soldiers were stationed at Armstrong Academy. The Academy was also one of the “principal hospital camps of the Confederate forces in Indian Territory and the wounded and sick were carried there from locations as far distant as Ft. Smith. Two hundred and fifty of the dead were buried nearby in shallow graves in a neglected cemetery.”

 

 

In the years after the Civil War, Armstrong Academy continued as the capital of the Choctaw Nation  As the capital of the Choctaw Nation, the Armstrong Academy buildings were the home to the Choctaw Council, the Choctaw Courts.

 

 

The Orphan Academy

 

In the fall of 1883, General Council passed an act that reestablished the Armstrong Academy as an educational institution. The new capital building was completed at Tuskahoma, and so the Armstrong Academy was no longer needed as the capital.  The law stipulated that 50 orphan boys would attend this school, with one third coming from each district. The Law stipulated that classes would begin on the First Monday in September, 1884.

 

 

William James Beard Lloyd

The Council needed someone to manage the Academy, and so they found William James Beard Lloyd, a Presbyterian missionary, to be the Superintendent. Not much has been found about the Academy during the years Lloyd was Superintendent. He did supervise the erection of new buildings at the academy during his 6 year tenure.  He also reported that the buildings and farm were in need of repair.  He also gave insight into the curriculum in 1889, as was mentioned before.  He also inventoried the property of the Armstrong Academy in December 1889, with prices for each item.

 

 

 

 

Calvin J. Ralston

On January 1, 1890, Rev. Calvin J. Ralston was appointed to replace Lloyd,   Ralston was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, where he spent his boyhood and early manhood.   He held pastorates first in Tennessee and then in Denton Texas before arriving at the Armstrong Academy He was Superintendent from 1890 to 1894. A tragedy occurred in the fall if 1892, when Superintendent Ralston’s six year old son, Calvin wandered beyond the grounds of the Academy and drowned in am mill pond. Superintendent Ralston began a school in Durant, called Calvin Institute, in his son’s memory. Superintendent Ralston reported repairs being made to the buildings and the lack of room for the boys because of one building being in such poor shape.

 

 

Thomas W. Hunter

In 1894, the Choctaws decided to run the Academy themselves, and so they cancelled all contracts with the Presbyterians and the missionaries, and the Choctaw Board of Education appointed one of their own, Thomas W, Hunter as Superintendent. He was born in 1869 near the town of Boswell. His father was full-blood Choctaw, and his mother was from Tennessee. He was educated in the tribal schools in the nation, and attended Roanoke College in Virginia. The few known records that survive during his time at the Academy are invoices of purchases made for the Academy, receipts of money received from the National Council, and a few newspaper articles.

 

 

End of Choctaw Control of Education

 

 

In the Curtis Act of 1898, the Choctaws and other five civilized tribes lost control of their income, and managing their schools was put under Federal control.

 

 

But  unsufficient money was given the boarding schools for upkeep and repairs, and by 1909 the boarding schools were in terrible shape. In the fall of 1909 Indian Inspector E. B. Linnen inspected the Indian Territory boarding schools. He found them to be in terrible condition of filth, not enough food, medical needs not taken care of.  A new system of education was put in place. Part of this new system was cutting back on the boarding schools.  Twelve of the 24 boarding schools in the five civilized tribes were shut down. The remaining twelve, in which the Armstrong Academy was included, received extensive repairs and continued to educate Indian youth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam L. Morley

While all these changes were going on, work at the Armstrong Academy continued. Samuel L. Morley was placed in charge of the Armstrong Academy as its eighth Superintendent in August 1900.    He was born in Honey Grove Texas in 1872.

 

 

 He must have liked the military way of running an institution, since he ran the Academy in military style, imposing a strict military discipline. The students faced stern corporal punishment for the infraction of any rule.  Morley was transferred to Jones Academy in September 1903. It is unknown if the military style of discipline was in place before or continued after Superintendent’s Morley’s time.

 

 

Gabe E. Parker

After Sam L. Morley was transferred to Jones Academy, he was replaced by Wallace B. Butz for a year.

 

 

Butz’s principal teacher was Gabe E. Parker. After Butz left the Academy in 1904 Gabe Parker was promoted to superintendent. Parker was born at Ft. Towson in 1878. His father was J. C. Parker, from Kentucky, and his mother was a one-quarter Choctaw.  Gabe was educated at Spencer Academy, graduating there in 1894. He then continued his education in Muskogee. He became principal of Armstrong Academy in 1900 and Superintendent in 1904 and remained in that position until 1913.

 

 

The Last Superintendent

Last superintendent of Armstrong Academy was Peru Farver.  He was born in 1888 at Bonton, Indian Territory from a full-blood Choctaw father and a white mother from Kansas. He was educated at the Armstrong Academy from 1902 to 1909, following which he went to the University of Chicago, but returned to teach at the Academy. He became Superintendent of the Academy in 1913.  No reports of the superintendents after 1900 have been found, so the main source of information is from newspapers.

 

 

Health

The health of the students at the Academy was generally good, however, there could be times of sickness, and even death. Rev Potts reported a death from whooping cough in 1849, and Superintendent Ralston reported a death in 1890 from measles and pneumonia, and another death in 1892.  Superintendent Ralston also reported when he began his time as Superintendent there were “a number of boys in poor health”   There were probably other deaths, at the Academy, but not in the records uncovered to date. 

 

 

Sometimes students died because of their own actions.  In 1910 three students drank wood alcohol and two died from this experience.

 

 

Final Examinations

One of the crowning events at the Academy was the final examinations, also called public examinations, or closing exercises.  This event was usually held at the end of the term in June or July, and parents and distinguished guests were often in attendance. The boys would show their stuff, which meant their knowledge gained, or military drills perfected, and other accomplishments.  The event could last all day, and plenty of food was available. In the evening a commencement program was held, at least in the latter years of the academy.

 

 

Sports

There is no encountered source that tells when sports programs began at Armstrong Academy.  However, by 1899 the boys at the academy were playing baseball.  By 1905 the Academy boys were playing football, and by 1914 they were involved in track meets. They probably were participating in these sports before the dates given; these are the first dates reported amongst the records that survive.

 

 

They played other high schools in the area, such as Southeastern Normal, Durant College,  Durant high school, Murry State School of Agriculture, Atoka high school,   Ardmore high school, Texas Military School in Paris, Texas,  and possibly other schools in the area.  The Armstrong Academy boys were known as the “Bucks”.

 

 

 

 

The Armstrong Academy and World War One

14 of the Armstrong Academy boys enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard in the spring of 1917.  The boys are all between 18 and 20 years of age.   Whether they saw service in Europe is unknown.

                                                                                

+The End of the Academy: When did it Burn Down?

This is a question that has several answers.  James D. Morrison put the end of the academy in February 1921. It is unknown why he thought that it burned in 1921 because many of his sources have been lost.  

 

 

Then there are those who think that the Academy burned in 1919.  Kent Ruth wrote an article for the Daily Oklahoman in 1971 said that the academy burned in 1919. Also noted historian and editor of the Chronicles of Oklahoma Muriel H. Wright said that the academy burned in 1919.

 

 

However, wherever the previous scholars obtained their information, the newspapers of the time clearly state  that the Academy burned in January 1920. Among those is The Bryan County Democrat, which reported in the January 22, 1920 paper on the front page headlines the following” “ARMSTRONG ACADEMY, AN OLD LAND MARK IN CHOCTAW NATION WENT UP IN SMOKE LAST NIGHT”. Also the Daily Oklahoman and the Caddo Herald reported the same thing in January 1920

 

 

 The newspaper accounts said that it burned about 7:30 PM on the night of January 21, 1920. The newspaper reports that the fire “was discovered in the boiler room and the flames spread so rapidly that the inadequate fire fighters at the school were unable to cope with them.”

 

 

There were 125 boys at the Academy at the time that it burned and Superintendent Farver was in Idabel.  The students were all placed in homes in Bokchito.  Where the students went from there is unknown, except that they must have been put either in the other boarding schools or in the day schools.

 

 

The other property of the Academy was “disposed of through Indian Agents and commissioners appointed for that purpose.” Today the entire land that the Academy stood on is in private hands.

 

 

Why does the Armstrong Academy have a unique history, then?

 

 

 

 

1. It was the only academy that was the Capital of the Choctaw Nation. No other academy served this unique function.

2. It was also the only Academy that was the capital of the Confederate Indian tribes.

 

 

For these reasons, the Armstrong Academy, although part of the Choctaw system of education, in many ways had a unique history. The Academy helped to educate hundreds of Choctaws at a time when education was needed by the Indians.  It is not known what happened to every Choctaw boy who was educated at Armstrong Academy, but many learned how to farm and to use tools and to run a business. Some were fortunate to have advanced education outside of the Choctaw Nation and became teachers and ministers, and probably other professional occupations. How long the Academy would have continued to educate Choctaw Boys if it had not been destroyed in 1920 in unknown. Certainly it was not needed anymore by 1920, especially since the Choctaws had stated in 1916 that they had wanted to abolish the boarding schools. But still it is a symbol of a marvelous system of education that rivaled the education of whites.