The Antelope Hills are a series of low hills in the bend of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Roger Mills County, Oklahoma Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,647, making it the third-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was create ...

, near the border between western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. They were a major landmark for the

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

and travelers on what is now the western plains of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. The area was part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation until the

Land Run of 1892 The Land Run of 1892 was the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation to settlement in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of seven in Oklahoma, it occurred on April 19, 1892, and opened up land that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, ...

opened it to non-Indian settlement. The hills are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture,'' there is some evidence that prehistoric humans used this area as a hunting ground. Spanish explorer

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

first mentioned these hills in 1541. In 1682,

René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

claimed the area for Spain, which ceded it to France in 1800. It became part of the United States in 1803, through the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

.Pittman, J. Josh and Richard A. Marston. "Antelope Hills." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture,''
Accessed August 16, 2016 The region was included in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

until Oklahoma Territory was formed in 1890, and had become the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in 1867. The Land Run of 1892 opened the area to non-Indian settlement, when it became part of County F. It became part of Roger Mills County after Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Before the American Civil War, this area was part of

Comancheria The Comancheria or Comanchería (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land') was a region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s. Historian Pekka Hämäläinen has argued that the Comancheria ...

, because the Comanche tribe regarded the land as their hunting ground and cattle grazing land. They vigorously opposed settlements by white immigrants and non-indigenous Native Americans, leading to much destruction and bloodshed. The U. S. military was ineffective in stopping Comanche raids into Texas and Mexico. Finally, the Texas Rangers and some Native American allies began a campaign in 1858 to eliminate the problem. The campaign culminated in the

Battle of Little Robe Creek The Battle of Little Robe Creek, also called the Battle of Antelope Hills, took place on May 12, 1858. It was a series of three distinct encounters that took place on a single day, between the Comanches, with Texas Rangers, militia, and allied ...

on May 12, 1858. After gold was discovered in California in 1848, the large number of people traveling west created a need for a wagon road. Captain Randolph B. Marcy was commissioned to lead a party to survey the route for such a road from Fort Smith to California. This became known as the California Road. Marcy described the Antelope Hills as, ". . . about one hundred and fifty feet high, of porous sandstone, and appear to be the result of volcanic action. They rise almost perpendicularly from the smooth prairie, are flat upon the top, and present every indication of having been raised out of the earth by volcanic agency. They are near the 100th degree of longitude, and are sometimes called the Boundary mounds, as being near the line formerly claimed by Texas as her eastern boundary."National Register of Historic Places - Inventory-Nomination Form. "Antelope Hills." December 14, 1978.
Accessed August 16, 2016. The Antelope Hills area was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 1978. This area is sparsely populated. The main economic activities are agriculture and petroleum production, because it lies atop the Ogallala Aquifer and the Anadarko Basin.

Physical description

The surface was originally formed by sediments (sand, clay and caliche) carried down by streams from the Rocky Mountains. These eventually formed sandy, loam soils. Native plants are mostly prairie grasses and a few broadleaf trees, Wooded areas are mostly composed of cottonwood, willow, mesquite and eastern red cedar trees. Wildlife is mostly mule deer, white-tailed deer, Pronghorn, pronghorn antelope, and rabbit. Avian species include Northern bobwhite, Bobwhite quail, Turkey (bird), Rio Grande turkey, and Common pheasant, Ring-necked pheasant.

NRHP listing data

The Antelope Hills site (NRIS #78002259) was listed in 1978. The nearest community is Durham, Oklahoma.National Register of Historic Places.
Accessed August 16, 2016. * Historic Significance: Event * Area of Significance: Exploration/Settlement, Agriculture, Military, Social History * Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1825-1849, 1800-1824 * Owner: Private * Historic Function: Landscape * Historic Sub-function: Conservation Area * Current Function: Landscape * Current Sub-function: Conservation Area

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Antelope Hills

* [http://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/78002259.pdf National Register of Historic Places - Inventory-Nomination Form. "Antelope Hills." December 14, 1978.]
Travel OK - Antelope Hills

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{Mountains of Oklahoma Mountain ranges of Oklahoma Hills of Oklahoma Landforms of Roger Mills County, Oklahoma Tourist attractions in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

History

Physical description

NRHP listing data

See also

References

External links