Miller Court House was the first post office located in what is now

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. It was located in what was then

Miller County, Arkansas Territory Miller County was a county that existed from April 1, 1820 to 1838, first as part of Arkansas Territory and later the State of Arkansas. It included much of what is southeastern Oklahoma and the northeastern counties in Texas (Bowie, Red River, ...

. The post office opened September 5, 1824, and was closed December 28, 1839. Miller Court House (or Miller Courthouse) was the county seat of old Miller County. On January 20, 1825, the land was ceded by treaty to the

Choctaw Nation 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 ...

, and non-Native Americans were forced to leave. Before leaving in November 1828, they burned the courthouse and records in protest. The exact site is unknown, but it was in what is now

McCurtain County, Oklahoma McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. ...

. On April 1, 1820, Governor James Miller signed an act of the Arkansas Territorial Legislature that established the "County of Miller" in the southwestern part of what was then known as

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

. This Miller County contained the western halves of present-day

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River *Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...

Sevier Sevier ( ) is an unincorporated community in southwestern Sevier County, Utah, United States. It lies in the valley of the Sevier River along U.S. Route 89 southwest of the city of Richfield, the county seat of Sevier County. Its elevation is ...

and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

Counties in modern Arkansas, all of McCurtain,

Choctaw 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 ...

Pushmataha Pushmataha (c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw), the "Indian General", was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians cons ...

, and the southern one-third of both

Latimer Latimer may refer to: Places England * Latimer, Buckinghamshire, a village ** Latimer and Ley Hill, a civil parish that until 2013 was just called "Latimer" * Latimer, Leicester, an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicest ...

and Le Flore Counties in present-day Oklahoma. It also included a large area in northeast Texas. trickland, Rex W. "Establishment of 'Old' Miller County, Arkansas Territory." ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Vol. 18, No. 2, June, 1940. Accessed November 20, 2016. The

Legislative Council officially ceded the portion of Miller County north of the Red River to the Choctaw Nation in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

on October 17, 1828. Miller Court House continued to be used as a station for the registration for Choctaw Indians relocated from the East over the ''"trail of tears and death"''. Old Miller Court House was also used as a depot for the storage of corn and supplies destined for distribution to the Choctaws for many years. On October 23, 1832, the Arkansas Territory commissioners moved the county seat to Jonesborough Plantation, and the Miller Court House post office relocated there. Texas, however, annexed all of Miller County, Arkansas remaining south and west of the Red River and the old post office was discontinued December 28, 1838."Miller County, Arkansas." Handbook of Texas-Online.
Retrieved August 6, 2006 During the period of the Texas Republic (1836 - 1846), most residents of the disputed territory considered themselves to be citizens of Texas. Texas organized Red River County in 1837 and

Fannin County, Texas Fannin County is a county in the far northeast of the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,662. The county seat is Bonham. The county was named for James Fannin, who commanded the grou ...

in 1838. Ultimately, the former Arkansas Territory land south and west of the Red River became the present day Bowie,

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

Hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

, Lamar,

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

and

Titus County, Texas Titus County is a county located in the northeastern region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,247. Its county seat is Mount Pleasant. The county is named for Andrew Jackson Titus, an early settler. Titus ...

Counties. The remaining piece of Old Miller County north and east of the Red River was attached to

Lafayette County, Arkansas Lafayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,645, making it the third-least populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Lewisville. Lafayette County was formed on October ...

and Texarkana became its county seat.

Notes

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Oklahoma Geography of McCurtain County, Oklahoma Pre-statehood history of Oklahoma Pre-statehood history of Arkansas Pre-statehood history of Texas Ghost towns in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1820 Populated places disestablished in the 19th century

Notes

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Further reading

External links