In the June number of Chronicles, page 202, under the caption, "First Post Offices in What is Now State of Oklahoma," the statement is made that "a post office was first established in Cantonement Gibson, Cherokee Nation, Arkansas territory, the year 1839, July 17. And that Henry H. Steiner was appointed postmaster. The name of this office was changed to Fort Gibson, September 14, 1842, at which time Marcellus Duvall was postmaster."
The above information was gotten from the First Assistant Postmaster General, Washington, D. C. Mr. Grant Foreman, of Muskogee, writes that while in Washington some days ago he investigated the matter and found that the statement was not correct, and he gives the following as the correct one as to the establishment of the post office at that place. —Editor.
"Reference to the subject of early post-offices in Oklahoma is again occasioned by a recent communication from the First Assistant Postmaster General touching the early history of the Fort Gibson postoffice, the earliest within the state of Oklahoma. The postoffice department has furnished us with the following data from the files touching that early postoffice:
Cantonment Gibson, Crawford County, Arkansas Territory, first established February 28, 1827, with John Nicks as postmaster.
Nicksville, Lovely County, Arkansas, was established April 25, 1828, with John Dillard as first postmaster. The office was discontinued October 2, 1829. The buildings at Nicksville were subsequently acquired by Dwight Mission located near where is now Marble City, Sequoyah County. From 1824 to 1828 this part of Oklahoma was included in Lovely County, Arkansas.