[4] The site is located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Millerton in McCurtain County, Oklahoma.

[5] In 1832 the Academy was initiated by Alfred Wright, a physician and Presbyterian missionary who co-founded the nearby Wheelock Church.

He and his wife, Harriet Wright, had travelled with the Choctaw tribe when they were expelled from their previous homeland in the southeastern United States and forced to emigrate to Indian Territory.

Within a year, the Superintendent of the Choctaw Agency reported that Wheelock Academy had become a model for Indian education.

In 1839, Wright expanded the school by building a large dormitory to accommodate boarding students.

Although the Presbyterian Home Missions Board and the Federal Government became involved in administering the school, it remained owned and financially supported by the Choctaw Nation.

John Edwards returned to teach at an academy near Boggy Depot, since his wife had died in 1881 in California.

Additional courses included Arithmetic, music, and geography were also taught, and in some schools pupils learned algebra, geometry, U.S. history, chemistry, philosophy, botany, astronomy, painting, drawing, and Latin grammar.

In 1955, its functions were merged with Jones Academy, and the Wheelock site was closed permanently.

Although the local people maintain the grounds, and one building, the former LeFlore Hall, has been turned into a museum.

[11] In 1999, a news program noted that Delton Cox, treasurer of the Choctaw Nation was leading a project to restore the old academy.