Spencerville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northern Choctaw County,

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 12 miles northeast of Hugo, adjacent to the Pushmataha County border. The improved Ft. Smith to Ft. Towson military road of 1839 ran north–south through Spencerville after crossing the "Seven Devils" on its way southeast to Doaksville. This wagon road was heavily used by the U.S. Army from 1839 to 1848, especially during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

with Mexico. Spencerville, named for U.S.

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

John C. Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788 – May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President of the United States, President John Tyler. After graduating from Union Co ...

, was home to Spencer Academy, a

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 ...

boarding school for boys. The trace of the military road today serves as the access road from Spencerville 1/4 mile north to the site of old Spencer Academy. A large Oklahoma Historical Society marker identifies the site. Spencer Academy was opened in January 1844. It was here that Negro freedman "Uncle" Wallace Willis composed “ Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. He was inspired by the Red River which reminded him of the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and of the Prophet Elijah being taken to heaven by a chariot. Spencer Academy was operated on behalf of the

Choctaw Indians The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw ...

by the Presbyterian Board of Missions. Prior to Oklahoma's statehood Spencerville was in Towson County, Choctaw Nation—but was very close to the boundary with

Cedar County Cedar County may refer to: * Cedar County, Iowa * Cedar County, Missouri * Cedar County, Nebraska * Cedar County, Choctaw Nation * Cedar County, Washington, a proposed county made up of part of King County * Cedar County, Utah Territory, a fo ...

. A United States post office operated at Spencerville, Indian Territory, from January 22, 1844 to July 22, 1847 and was established again on May 17, 1902. The community and its post offices took their name from the academy. The academy later relocated to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, several miles to the west.George H. Shirk, ''Oklahoma Place Names'', p. 196; Angie Debo, ''Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic'', p. 60; Post Office Site Location Reports, Record Group 28, National Archives.

References

Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma Unincorporated communities in Choctaw County, Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-geo-stub