Dela is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Pushmataha County Pushmataha County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,572. Its county seat is Antlers. The county was created at statehood from part of the former territory of the C ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, United States, located six miles southeast of

Antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

. It is within the jurisdiction of the

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United S ...

. A

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

operated here from May 12, 1920 to October 31, 1954. The post office and community were named for Dela M. Whitaker, local

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

. Dela was originally known as White Church, or ''Itissa Busha'' in the

Choctaw language The Choctaw language (Choctaw: ), spoken by the Choctaw, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, is part of the Muskogean language family. Chickasaw is separate but closely related language to Choctaw. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahom ...

, after a Methodist church built by a white settler for use by

Choctaw Indians The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

. The date of its construction is unknown, but antedated the settlement in 1886 of nearby Antlers; the earliest grave in its cemetery is dated 1883. When built it was located in what was then

Cedar County Cedar County may refer to: * Cedar County, Iowa * Cedar County, Missouri * Cedar County, Nebraska * Cedar County, Choctaw Nation * Cedar County, Washington The list of county secession proposals in the United States includes proposed new coun ...

, a part of the

Apukshunnubbee District Apukshunnubbee District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. Also called the Second District, it encompassed the southeastern one-third of the nation. The Apukshunnubbee District w ...

of the Choctaw Nation. In the early 1870s, Colonel Victor M. Locke established a prosperous store,

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

at White Church on White Creek. The Choctaw National Council named the settlement “Lockestown,” at least for use in identifying it as an official Choctaw electoral precinct. Locke moved from White Church to Beaver, as Antlers was then known, in 1875. The logs for the Methodist church were hauled from

Fort Towson Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for United States Army, Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Army on the Frontier, Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Loc ...

for construction. They were whitewashed with

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, leading to the name of ''Itissa Busha,'' of White Church, by the Choctaw. By the late 1930s, historical accounts say the Choctaw who formerly lived nearby and worshiped here were deceased and the church was defunct. The church property was purchased by a white farmer, who razed the structure. Its cemetery survives as Dela Cemetery.“Bud Boyd”, Indian-Pioneer Papers, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries More information on Dela, White Church, and the Locke family may be found in the

Pushmataha County Historical Society The Pushmataha County Historical Society is a historical society devoted to collecting and preserving the history of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It is headquartered in the historic Frisco Depot in Antlers, Oklahoma, which it operates as a public ...

References

{{authority control Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma Unincorporated communities in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma