The Choctaw Freedmen | Page 5

the county seat. The location of
Oak Hill Academy proved to be one and a half miles east of the west
line of McCurtain county. In 1910 the population of McCurtain county
was 20,681, of Oklahoma City 64,205; and of the state of Oklahoma,
1,657,155.
CLEAR CREEK
During the period immediately preceding the incoming of the Hope and
Ardmore Railroad in 1902, the most important news and trading center,
between Fort Towson and Wheelock, was called "Clear Creek." Clear
Creek is a rustling, sparkling little stream of clear water that flows
southward in a section of the country where most of the streams are
sluggish and of a reddish hue. The Clear Creek post office was located
in a little store building a short distance east of this stream and about
three miles north of Red river.
A little log court house, for the administration of tribal justice among
the Choctaws of that vicinity, a blacksmith shop and a Choctaw church
were also located at this place. These varied interests gave to Clear
Creek the importance of a miniature county seat until Valliant and
Swink were founded.
OAK HILL
During this early period the oak covered ridge, extending several miles
east of Clear Creek, was known as Oak Hill and the settlement in its
vicinity was called by the same name.
When the first church (1869) and school (1876) were established
among the Freedmen in this settlement, the same name was naturally
given to both of them. It has adhered to them, amid all the changes that
have occurred, since the first meetings were held at the home of Henry
Crittenden in 1868.

VALLIANT
Valliant was founded in 1902, and was so named in honor of one of the
surveyors of the Hope and Ardmore, a branch of the Frisco railway. It
is located in the west end of McCurtain county eight miles north of Red
river. It has now a population of 1,000 and a branch railroad running
northward.
The country adjacent to the town consists of beautiful valleys and
forests heavily set with timber, principally oak, walnut, ash and hickory,
and with pine and cedar along the streams. The soil is a rich sandy
loam, that is easily cultivated and gives promise of great agricultural
and horticultural possibilities. It is in the center of the cotton belt and
this staple is proving a very profitable one. The climate is healthful and
the locality is unusually free from the prevalence of high winds.

II
INDIAN SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.--EFFECTS OF THE CIVIL
WAR.--TRANSFER OF THE FREEDMEN'S WORK.--THE
INDIANS MAKE PROGRESS TOWARD
CIVILIZATION.--WHEELOCK ACADEMY.--SPENCER
ACADEMY.--DOAKSVILLE AND FORT TOWSON.
"God, who hath made of one blood all nations of men and determined
the bounds of their habitation, commandeth all men everywhere to
repent."--Paul.
When Columbus landed on the shores of America, the Indians were the
only people he found occupying this great continent. During the long
period that has intervened, the Indian has furnished proof, that he
possesses all the attributes which God has bestowed upon other
members of the human family. He has shown that he has an intellect
capable of development, that he is willing to receive instruction and
that he is capable of performing any duty required of an American

citizen.
Considerable patience however has had to be exercised both by the
church in its effort to bring him under the saving influence of the
gospel, and by the government in its effort to elevate him to the full
standard of citizenship. Results are achieved slowly. His struggles have
been many and difficult. He has needed counsel and encouragement at
every advancing step.
In the former days, when the Indian supported his family by hunting,
trapping and fishing, he moved about from place to place. This was
finally checked in Indian Territory by the individual allotment of lands
in 1904. He has thus been compelled by the force of circumstances, to
change his mode of life. He has gradually discovered he can settle
down on his own farm, improve it by the erection of good buildings,
and either buy or make the implements he needs for cultivating the soil.
The great commission to the church to "go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature," will not be completed until the American
Indian and the Freedmen, who were his former slaves, have been
brought under its uplifting influence.
The Presbyterian church throughout all its history has been the friend
and patron of learning and inasmuch as the evangelistic work among
the Indians and Freedmen, has been largely dependent on school work
for permanent results, it began to establish schools among the Indians
at a very early date. The work among the five civilized tribes was
begun many years before they were transported from