Henry Crittenden and Teena Crittenden his wife, John Ross Shoals, his son-in-law and Hattie C. Shoals, his wife, all of whom were buried in the Crittenden Burying Ground near the old Crittenden pioneer home east of Valliant, were four of the six original members of the Oak Hill Church in 1869.
The Treaty of January 17, 1837, was an agreement where the Choctaw tribe allowed the Chickasaws to create a district within Choctaw territory, known as the Chickasaw District of the Choctaw Nation. Amidst U.S. expansion policies like the Indian Removal Act, the treaty gave the Chickasaws autonomy and equal representation in the Choctaw council, excluding some financial rights. Boundaries for their district were defined, and the Chickasaws agreed to pay the Choctaws $530,000, with partial immediate payment and the remainder invested under U.S. supervision. Disputes would be settled by the Choctaw agent or ultimately the U.S. President. The treaty, signed in Doaksville, exemplifies Native American resilience and inter-tribal cooperation during forced negotiations due to American expansionism.
Doaksville, though no longer entitled to a place on the map, is the name of an important pioneer Indian village. Here the proud and powerful Choctaws established themselves during the later twenties, and were regarded as happy and prosperous before the Civil War.
