The Wheelock Rock Church is the oldest standing church building in the state of Oklahoma and the oldest standing building in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. It was built in 1846 by the Presbyterian Missionary, Alfred Wright and members of his congregation to serve the Wheelock community and his Wheelock Mission which included a day school adjacent to the church. The Wheelock Mission was a service of t
he American Missionary Society to the Choctaw Native Americans who were migrating into what is now southeast Oklahoma, after signing the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with the United States. Choctaw removal to the Indian Territory began in earnest in 1831. By 1832, Alfred Wright, a native of New England had established the Wheelock Mission. At the mission Alfred and his wife, Harriet Bunce Wright translated books of the Bible into the Choctaw language. They also wrote hymns in the Choctaw language, including Choctaw Hymn #48, A Prayer To The Holy Spirit, which remains one of the most popular pieces of music in the Choctaw language. From 1853-61 the missionary John Edwards was in charge of Wheelock Mission. In 1861, the Choctaw Nation pulled all funds from their educational facilities in order to fund their war effort in partnership with the Confederate States of America. This caused the Wheelock Mission School to close. However, the church remained. Sadly, in 1861 the Wheelock Mission buildings caught fire and the church's interior and roof was destroyed. The building's massive rock walls remained, but were abandoned. In 1878 reconstruction of the Wheelock Church began. It was completed in 1879. Therefore, the interior of the church is from 1878-9, but the rock walls are from the original 1846 construction. The Wheelock Rock Church served the community for many years to come, even accepting the consolidation of other congregations, including the Garvin Presbyterian Church in 1932. It also served the Wheelock Academy, which was instituted by the United States in 1884 and closed in 1955. Today the building hosts no congregation, but is kept alive through the Wheelock Cemetery Association, which raises money for the church and performs the necessary upkeep on it and the surrounding property. To make a donation to the Wheelock Rock Church's maintenance funds, send your contribution to:
The Wheelock Cemetery Association
P.O. Box 181
Millerton, OK
74750
