"Cities, Towns & Countryside"

4th Annual Preservation Week 2002 Photo-Essay Competition

When I first heard about the Choctaw Academy my reaction, like many others, was "the what"? In this essay I'm going to expand your knowledge of the Choctaw Academy. The Academy is hardly known to most Scott County citizens, and it was once know throughout the United States as the best-civilized school for Indians. The Choctaw Academy has only one building left; I plan to show you why I think the building should be reserved for future generations. It is one thing to read and write about history, but is another thing to personally see and stand next to that same spot where history was made.

The Choctaw Academy is located on Blue Springs farm, a beautiful homestead with rolling hills, hand made rock fences, and a sparkling spring. In the year 1818, Richard M. Johnson, future Vice-President under Martin Van Buren, feeling led to help the Indians, donated land right next to his home to the Kentucky Baptists Mission Society for building an academy that would educate and civilize the Indians. This land was known as Blue Springs. Consequently, the academy was built consisting of five buildings. The academy itself was a two-story stone building; there were three buildings for living quarters and dining, and one frame structure. It was first opened in 1819, but was closed shortly after in 1821. It was not reopened until after 1825, when Richard Johnson made a treaty with the Choctaw nation promising to give the money received from the sale of Indian territory to the education of Indian children.

Around twenty-five young Choctaw Chief's sons, ranging from ages 13-24, were sent to the Choctaw Academy becoming the first teenage boys in the school. They each were given a new American name like Davis Fry, Adam Nail, John Wade, Daniel Miller, and Thomp McKenny. Reverend Thomas Henderson, a strong Christian man, was selected to be the overseer of the school. The Indians were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, practical surveying, astronomy, and vocal music. If the students wished, they could also work in a trades shop for making shoes, building wagons, running a tailor store or a blacksmith shop. Also a fund was given to each Indian (who participated in the trade shop) to enable them to buy instruments and tools to start their own trade on returning home. There was plenty of land outside for the boys to have fun playing games, running or relaxing in their spare time.

Other Indian nations soon saw the quality and education the Choctaws received, and joined the Choctaw Academy including: Chickasaws, Cherokees, Foxes, Miamies, Osages, Pottowatomies, Seminoles, and Quapaws, also attending were local black and white boys from nearby farms. By 1830, the Academy was in full bloom with over a hundred students. Choctaw Academy kept growing so much that by 1831, they decided to move to White Sulphur, a nearby farm also owned by Richard M. Johnson.

Rev. Thomas Henderson expressed his feelings of success when he learned that pupils from the Choctaw Academy were putting to use what they had learned and were behaving as Christians. Many graduated students had written him stories about their newly found jobs. One student had opened a blacksmith shop, another was running a shoe and boot store, and one had just become a teacher. Hearing these stories made Henderson value the work and effort he put into the academy, knowing that the students would grow and apply their knowledge.
Like most schools, the Choctaw Academy had to face some mischievous rumors. In 1839, a group of boys wrote a letter about their suffering to Mr. Armstrong, who recruited Indians for the Choctaw Academy. Many people believed the letter to be lies told from ill-behaved boys who just wanted to go home, but never-the-less more examinations were made. Even thought the Choctaw Academy went through numerous more inspections to prove its quality and even selected a Choctaw named Peter Pitchlynn, to fill in the space Rev. Henderson's retirement left, many parents refused to send their children.
Some think that the refusal from some of the Indians was what caused the Choctaw Academy to close but that is not true. With the Indians starting to build their own schools in their land, there was no use in going to a school that was miles away in Kentucky. So in 1845, the Choctaw Academy came to an end. But for twenty years the Choctaw Academy had the privilege of educating many generations of Indians and seeing them grow with the nation. Some of these young men were: Lewis Downing, George W. Harkins, Peter Pitchlynn, Robert Jones, William Smallwood, the Leflores, the Folsoms, and the Nails.

There is only one building left, believed to be a living quarter, because of a fire. The Choctaw Academy building has survived for almost two hundred years and I think it would be wonderful if it could be preserved for future generations to tell the story that it has experienced even if it was for only a small period of time. It represents the accomplishments of many Kentuckians, who overcame the prejudice of that time, to prove that if you work hard and follow your heart; you can accomplish something great for yourself and others.

Next to the school is a small hill where some of the young boys attending the Choctaw Academy died from the Cholera epidemic; I believe this should also have a sign placed on it telling about the students of Choctaw and their accomplishments.

References were gathered from "Scott County: a History", "Chronicles of Oklahoma", "Col. Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky", and "History of Scott County".

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.