Skullyville (also spelled Scullyville) is an unincorporated rural community in

Le Flore County LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 48,129. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choc ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. It is approximately one mile east of Spiro and southwest of

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

. The community is within the

-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is derived from ''Iskuli'', the Choctaw word for money, because originally this was the place where members collected their annuity payments at the Choctaw Agency.Morrison, W. B
"The Saga of Skullyville"
''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 16, Number 2, June 1938; Retrieved March 8, 2014.

History

It was capital of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

, capital of the

Moshulatubbee District Moshulatubbee District was one of three provinces, or districts, comprising the former Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. Also called the First District, it encompassed the northern one-third of the nation. In some historic records it is spel ...

of the Choctaw Nation, and in the late 1850s a stop for the

Butterfield Stage Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

. It developed as a political and business center of the nation before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Skullyville was the site of the Choctaw Agency from 1832 until 1839. During the Civil War, after the Choctaw allied with the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, the town suffered serious damage in warfare. Afterward, the town was bypassed by construction of a new railroad in the area, and it was abandoned by businessmen who moved to the nearest railroad station. In 1917, closure of the post office marked the final decline of the community. It is now considered a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, and little more than the cemetery remains. The Choctaw Indian agency was built on this site in 1832, after the federal government conducted removal of the tribe to

Indian Territory 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 States, ...

. The US Indian agent distributed annuity payments here, and a trading and business community developed around the post. Until 1859, after unification of the three districts of the Nation, the community was officially called "Choctaw Agency". Major F. W. Armstrong served as the first US agent until his death in 1835. He was succeeded by his brother, William Armstrong. Jon D. May, "Scullyville," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed March 8, 2014. The Choctaw designated Skullyville, then known as "Oak Lodge", as county seat of Skullyville County, the capital of the

of the Nation, and as the capital of the

. Dennis Peterson, "Fort Coffee," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.''
Accessed September 16, 2012. It also served as a stop on the

California Road The California Road was a route which ran through present-day Oklahoma (then known only as Indian Territory), along the Canadian River, at the time of the California Gold Rush. It was the southerly counterpart to the California Trail.Walker's Station Walker's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located at the old Choctaw Agency in Skullyville, in what is now Le Flore County, Oklahoma. The station was named for Tandy Walker, Chocta ...

, a stage stop on the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

route, was located in Skullyville. Unusually for the Choctaw Nation's county governments, an extant building from its time as county seat has survived: the

Skullyville County Jail The Skullyville County Jail, located west of Panama in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, was built in 1907. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is a small building with two-foot-thick sandstone walls, and was built by ...

. The name "Skullyville" is derived from ''iskulli'' or ''iskuli'', the Choctaw word for money. This was the place where tribal members could collect their annuity payments at the Choctaw Agency. Author W. B. Morrison suggests that the English meaning of Skullyville was "Moneytown". In 1834 the US Army built Fort Coffee at Swallow Rock, about north of the Choctaw Agency. The army maintained it for four years; it reassigned the garrison as no longer needed. The facility was transferred to

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, who adapted it as a boys' school, known as Fort Coffee Academy. During the Civil War, the buildings were burned down in the conflict. This school was never reopened. During the mid-1840s, the Methodist Church established New Hope Seminary, a girls' school, in Skullyville. It attracted students from all over the Choctaw Nation. It closed during the war, but reopened afterward. It continued to operate until the building burned down in 1896. During the 1840s Skullyville had become a political, educational and social center for the Choctaw. But after the nation moved the national capital to

Doaksville Doaksville is a former settlement, now a ghost town, located in present-day Choctaw County, Oklahoma. It was founded between 1824 and 1831, by people of the Choctaw Indian tribe who were forced to leave their homes in the Southeastern United St ...

in 1850, tensions among factions erupted into more tribal political strife. In 1858 a majority of members adopted the Skullyville Constitution at a convention in Skullyville. It abolished the three districts to unify the nation under one principal leader, known as the governor. Tandy Walker, from a prominent Choctaw family, took over the former Choctaw Agency building when he was appointed in 1858 as supervisor of the Butterfield Stage stop. He was also elected as governor of the unified Choctaw Nation. He adapted this building for use both as his residence and with space for the Butterfield Stage office. Walker retained it as his home until he died in 1877. According to Morrison, the old agency building still stood in the 1930s. The structure is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NR 72001074). Skullyville began to decline after the Civil War. The Choctaw aligned with the Confederacy and served in their army. The boys' academy and other buildings were burned during warfare in the town. After the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

bypassed the town in 1895, the local businessmen moved to Spiro, the closest railroad station. They judged this service as essential for their trading and getting their products to market. When the post office closed in 1917, this event essentially marked the death of the community. Skullyville is now a ghost town, with only a cemetery remaining.

Notable people

* Frank Crawford Armstrong, general in the Confederate Army, born in Skullyville * Douglas H. Johnston, Chickasaw Nation governor (1898-1902), and (1904-1939) *

Green McCurtain Greenwood "Green" McCurtain (November 28, 1848 – December 27, 1910) was a Choctaw statesman and law enforcement officer, and the last elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Choctaw Nation (1896–1900 and 1902–1906), servi ...

, Choctaw principal chief (1896-1900, 1902-1910)

History

Notable people

References

Further reading