Cultural Heritage
Near the town of Swink sits a magnificently restored two-story log home dating from the 1830s and is traditionally referred to as the Old Choctaw Chief’s House. It is one of the oldest houses of its kind in the state. Thomas LeFlore, District Chief of the Choctaw Nation, lived there approximately twenty years dating from the 1830s to the 1850s. The gate is always open and group tours are available by calling 580-873-2301.
The Ft. Towson/Doaksville Historic Site and Museum is the location of the surrender of the last Confederate Genera,l Stand Watie. The newly renovated museum features artifacts taken from an 1830s sunken steamboat from a nearby site on the Red River. Doaksville was one of the most prominent commercial centers in the Choctaw Nation for 70 years.
The Goodland Academy, formerly known as Goodland’s Indian Orphanage, lies Southeast of Hugo. It started as a mission in 1838 and has been helping children continually to present day. The church was built in 1852 and has served for 42 years as both school and church for the area. Renovated several times since being built, the same church stands on the Goodland Campus today.
Spiro Mounds in Poteau is Oklahoma’s only archaeological center. It is a 150 acre site, encompassing twelve southern mounds which contain evidence of an Indian Culture that occupied the site from 850 AD to 1450 AD.
Heavener Runestone State Park boasts evidence that Viking explorers visited the area in the form of traditional Scandinavian runestones carved into large rocks.
The Peter Conser House is the home of Peter Conser, who was captain of the Lighthorse for the Choctaw, and who served as a representative and then a senator to the Choctaw Council. In addition, Peter ran a large farm, a blacksmith shop, grist mill, and saw mill. He also kept a general store with a post office. The home has since been turned into a museum.
Kerr Conference Center and Museum in Poteau houses Indian artifacts, materials dealing with the Runestone, and articles used by Oklahoma and western pioneers in the Indian Territory and early days of statehood. Formerly the home of the first governor of Oklahoma and long-time U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr, the Center has also hosted many famous guests over the years, including several U.S. presidents after whom some of its rooms are named.
Of historical signifi cance in the Valliant area is the Wheelock Academy and Church, which represents nearly two centuries of Choctaw commitment to excellence in education. It originated with a Christian mission established in 1832, following the arrival of the Choctaws over the Trail of Tears. Wheelock Academy welcomes visitors to the newly formed museum. Tradition holds that two black slaves, Wallace and Minerva Willis, first gave voice to Negro spirituals such as Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on a nearby plantation. Elliott Academy, founded in 1869 as a boarding school for children of former slaves (or Freedmen), was located just west of Valliant.
Tobusky Indian Court House Museum
McAlester Old Town Historic District
918-423-8620
Choctaw Nation Capitol Museum
Tuskahoma, Antlers
918-569-4465
Indian Memorial Museum
Broken Bow
580-584-6531
Confederate Memorial Museum & Cemetery
Rest Stop & Information Center
Atoka
580-889-7192
Trail of Tears
Hwy 70 in Choctaw County