Dwight Presbyterian Mission

Dwight Presbyterian Mission was one of the first American missions to the Native Americans established in Arkansas and Indian Territory.

The mission was founded in 1821 near Russellville, Arkansas by Cephas Washburn. It was named for Rev. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College and a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

The mission was later moved to a new location near Sallisaw, Oklahoma at the request of the Cherokee tribe. Its primary mission was to provide an education to Cherokee children and expose them to the Christian religion.

Samuel Worcester served at the mission in 1835, after having worked with the Cherokee as a missionary in Georgia before removal. He created the type for the Cherokee syllabary for their first newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix. In 1837, the first printing press in the then Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) was moved from Union Mission to Dwight Mission. In 1839, the majority of the Cherokee nation was removed to the area from the Southeast on the Trail of Tears.

During the American Civil War, many of the mission's buildings were burned down in warfare between pro-Confederate and pro-Union forces. They were later rebuilt.

The school was closed in 1948. Dwight Mission today operates as a Presbyterian camp, retreat, and conference center between Marble City and Sallisaw Oklahoma. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Historical markers identify and explain the original location in Arkansas.