Wheelock Mission was established in 1832 by Rev. Alfred Wright and his wife, Harriet, who served as missionaries to the Choctaws for more than 30 years. Rev. Wright, a physician and linguist, helped develop the written Choctaw language and translated gospels and much educational material into Choctaw. The stone church here was completed in 1846 and is the oldest such building in Oklahoma. The school begun by the Wrights became a boarding school for Choctaw girls and was made part of the Choctaw National School system in 1842. It closed in 1955. Rev. Wright died in 1853 and is buried in the adjacent cemetery, and Rev. John Edwards was in charge of the mission from 1853 to 1861.