Land west of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border was established as Indian Territory in 1832. The Choctaws, uprooted from central and northern Mississippi, were relocated to much of the southeastern part of the Territory now known as LeFlore, McCurtain, Pushmataha, Haskell, Latimer, and Choctaw communities of Oklahoma. The Choctaw people were a progressive population embracing new ideas and products of the Spanish explorers and French traders/trappers.

In 1776, the Choctaw nation numbered 12,000. The white settlers invaded their ancestral home during the early 1800′s and sought to eliminate tribal government to adopt state law. Choctaws were forced to move westward after enactment of The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 followed by the Indian Removal Act.

Two families making the move and becoming prominent in the new Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma were the Folsoms and the McCurtains. Peter Conser, whose restored family home is near Heavener, was also a well-known and respected law enforcement officer.

Choctaws suffered great losses during the Civil War, fighting with the Confederacy. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Choctaws accepted U.S. citizenship. They still make up a large part of southeast Oklahoma’s population.