Spencerville is an unincorporated community in northern Choctaw County, Oklahoma. It is 12 miles northeast of Hugo, Oklahoma, adjacent to the Pushmataha County border. The improved Ft. Smith to Ft. Towson military road of 1839 ran north-south thru Spencerville after crossing the "Seven Devils" on its way southeast to Doaksville. This wagon road was heavily used by the U.S. Army from 1839–48, especially during the War with Mexico.Spencerville, named for U.S. Secretary of War John C. Spencer, was home to Spencer Academy, a Choctaw Nation boarding school for boys. The trace of the military road today serves as the access road from Spencerville 1/4 mile north to the site of old Spencer Academy. A large Oklahoma Historical Society marker identifies the site.Spencer Academy was founded in 1844. It was here that Negro freedman "Uncle" Wallace Willis composed “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”.