Fort Coffee was established on June 16, 1834, by the 7th Infantry and named in honor of Gen. John Coffee of Tennessee. The U.S. Army abandoned it in November 1838. In 1842, the site was selected by the Choctaw Council and established as Ft. Coffee Academy for Boys. During the Civil War, the buildings were used as barracks by Confederate forces. In October 1863, Federal troops captured the site and burned the principal buildings.