Miller Court House was the first post office located in what is now Oklahoma, United States. It was located in what was then Miller County, Arkansas Territory. The post office opened September 5, 1824, and was closed December 28, 1839. Miller Court House (or Miller Courthouse) was the county seat of old Miller County. On January 20, 1825, the land was ceded by treaty to the Choctaw Nation, and non-Native Americans were forced to leave. Before leaving in November 1828, they burned the courthouse and records in protest. The exact site is unknown, but it was in what is now McCurtain County, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. It is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the fifty United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which dramatically increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.
Miller County was a county that existed from April 1, 1820 to 1838, first as part of Arkansas Territory and later the State of Arkansas. It included much of what is southeastern Oklahoma and the northeastern counties in Texas. It was named for James Miller, the first governor of the Arkansas Territory.
McCurtain County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. The name honors an influential Choctaw family that lived in the area. Green McCurtain was the last chief when the Choctaw Nation was dissolved before Oklahoma became a state in 1907.
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On April 1, 1820, Governor James Miller signed an act of the Arkansas Territorial Legislature that established the "County of Miller" in the southwestern part of what was then known as Arkansas Territory. [lower-alpha 1] This Miller County contained the western halves of present-day Little River, Sevier and Polk Counties in modern Arkansas, all of McCurtain, ,Choctaw, Pushmataha, and the southern one-third of both Latimer and Le Flore Counties in present-day Oklahoma. It also included a large area in northeast Texas. [1] [lower-alpha 2]
James Miller was the first Governor of Arkansas Territory and a brevet brigadier general in the United States Army during the War of 1812. It was during his term as governor, and partly due to his influence, that the territory's capital was moved from Arkansas Post to Little Rock.
Hempstead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,609. The county seat is Hope. Hempstead County is Arkansas's fourth county, formed on December 15, 1818, alongside Clark and Pulaski counties. The county is named for Edward Hempstead, a delegate to the U.S. Congress from the Missouri Territory, which included present-day Arkansas at the time. It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.
Little River County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. state of Arkansas, bordering a corner with Texas and Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,171. The county seat is Ashdown.
The Arkansas Territory Legislative Council officially ceded the portion of Miller County north of the Red River to the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory on October 17, 1828. Miller Court House continued to be used as a station for the registration for Choctaw Indians relocated from the East over the "trail of tears and death". Old Miller Court House was also used as a depot for the storage of corn and supplies destined for distribution to the Choctaws for many years.
The Territory of Arkansas, initially organized as the Territory of Arkansaw, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1819, until June 15, 1836, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Robert Crittenden was secretary of the Territory from 1819 to 1829 and was de facto governor, preparing the territory for statehood.
As general terms, Indian Territory, the Indian Territories, or Indian country describe an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land. In general, the tribes ceded land they occupied in exchange for land grants in 1803. The concept of an Indian Territory was an outcome of the 18th- and 19th-century policy of Indian removal. After the Civil War (1861–1865), the policy of the government was one of assimilation.
The Trail of Tears was a series of forced relocations of Native Americans in the United States from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States, to areas to the west that had been designated as Indian Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The relocated peoples suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their new designated reserve, and many died before reaching their destinations. The forced removals included members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, as well as their African slaves. The phrase "Trail of Tears" originates from a description of the removal of many Native American tribes, including the infamous Cherokee Nation relocation in 1838.
On October 23, 1832, the Arkansas Territory commissioners moved the county seat to Jonesborough Plantation, [lower-alpha 3] and the Miller Court House post office relocated there. Texas, however, annexed all of Miller County, Arkansas remaining south and west of the Red River and the old post office was discontinued December 28, 1838. [2]
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major river in the southern United States of America. It was named for the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name. Although it was once a tributary of the Mississippi River, the Red River is now a tributary of the Atchafalaya River, a distributary of the Mississippi that flows separately into the Gulf of Mexico. It is connected to the Mississippi River by the Old River Control Structure.
During the period of the Texas Republic (1836 - 1846), most residents of the disputed territory considered themselves to be citizens of Texas. Texas organized Red River County in 1837 and Fannin County, Texas in 1838. Ultimately, the former Arkansas Territory land south and west of the Red River became the present day Bowie, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Morris and Titus County, Texas Counties. [2]
Fannin County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 33,915. The county seat is Bonham. The county was named for James Fannin, who commanded the group of Texans killed in the Goliad Massacre during the Texas Revolution. {James Bonham sought Fannin's assistance for the Battle of the Alamo .}
Bowie County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 92,565. Its legal county seat is Boston, though its courthouse is located in New Boston. The county is named for James Bowie, the legendary knife fighter who died at the Battle of the Alamo.
Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 30,464. The county seat is Linden. The county was named for Lewis Cass, a senator from Michigan who favored the annexation of Texas.
The remaining piece of Old Miller County north and east of the Red River was attached to Lafayette County, Arkansas and Texarkana became its county seat. [2]
Lafayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,645, making it the third-least populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Lewisville. Lafayette County was formed on October 15, 1827 and named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero of the American Revolutionary War. It is a dry county; therefore, the sale of alcohol is prohibited.
Texarkana is a city in Arkansas and the county seat of Miller County. The city is located across the state line from its twin city, Texarkana, Texas. The city was founded at a railroad intersection on December 8, 1873, and was incorporated in Arkansas on August 10, 1880. Texarkana is the principal city of the Texarkana metropolitan area, which is ranked 274th in terms of population in the United States with 150,098 in 2016 according to the United States Census Bureau.
