Dwight Presbyterian Mission

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Dwight Mission started in 1820 near Russellville, Arkansas, as one of the first American missions to Native Americans, to serve the Arkansas Cherokees. It was founded by Cephas Washburn and named after Rev. Timothy Dwight. After a 1828 treaty forced the Cherokees from Arkansas to Indian Territory, the mission moved in 1829 to Sallisaw Creek near Marble City, Oklahoma, and reopened. The school began on May 1, 1830, and grew into a small frontier town with many buildings to educate Cherokee children and teach them about Christianity. Samuel Worcester worked there in 1835 and helped develop Cherokee literacy, including the Cherokee syllabary and the Cherokee Phoenix printing press.

In 1839 most Cherokees were moved west along the Trail of Tears. During the Civil War, many buildings burned and the last church service was in 1862, after which the site was abandoned. By 1886 the Cherokee National Council reopened the school with funding from the Presbyterian Women’s Board of Home Missions, creating a large boarding school for Cherokee girls. After 1895 it became a day school, then again a boarding school in 1900 for both boys and girls. A fire in 1918 killed thirteen students who were trapped on a porch.

The school later became Dwight Indian Training School and operated under the Presbyterian Church’s Board of National Missions until it closed in 1948. In 1951 Dwight Mission, Inc. bought the property and ran programs for about 30 years, with the Synod of Oklahoma helping manage daily operations. Today Dwight Mission operates as a Presbyterian camp, retreat, and conference center between Marble City and Sallisaw. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with markers noting the original Arkansas location. In June 2021, the Dwight Mission site was acquired by the Cherokee Nation.