fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
established by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
on October 28, 1852, in what is now
Coke County, Texas
Coke County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,285. Its county seat is Robert Lee. The county was founded in 1889 and is named for Richard Coke, the 15th governor ...
, to protect the western
frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
and the
Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...
route. It was named after Lt. T.L. Chadbourne, who was killed in the
. It was defended by Companies A and K of the 8th U.S. Infantry. During the early days of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, the fort surrendered to the Confederates on February 28, 1861, even before the Confederate shelling of
Fort Sumter, South Carolina
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...
, but was reoccupied by federal troops from 1865 to 1867.
Other forts in the frontier fort system were Forts
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
,
Concho
Concha and Concho means "shell" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The word can also refer to:
Places
* Concho, Arizona, a frontier town now functioning as a retirement community in Apache County
* Concho, Oklahoma
* Concho County, Texas
...
Richardson
Richardson may refer to:
People
* Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname
* Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s
* Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962)
Places Australia
* Richardson, Australian Cap ...
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
,
Bliss
BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C b ...
Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
,
McIntosh
McIntosh, Macintosh, or Mackintosh (Gaelic: ') may refer to:
Products and brands
* Mackintosh, a form of waterproof raincoat
* Mackintosh's or John Mackintosh and Co., later Rowntree Mackintosh, former UK confectionery company now part of Nestlà ...
,
Inge
Inge is a given name in various Germanic language, Germanic language-speaking cultures. In Swedish and Norwegian, it is mostly used as a masculine, but less often also as a feminine name, sometimes as a short form of Ingeborg, while in Danish, Est ...
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost .
The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
in
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 ...
.Carter, R.G., On the Border with Mackenzie, 1935, Washington D.C.: Enyon Printing Co. "Subposts or intermediate stations" also were used, including Bothwick's Station on Salt Creek between Fort Richardson and Fort Belknap, Camp Wichita near Buffalo Springs between Fort Richardson and Red River Station, and Mountain Pass between Fort Concho and Fort Griffin.
Major Neighbors
Robert Neighbors
Robert Simpson Neighbors (November 3, 1815 – September 14, 1859) was an Indian agent and Texas state legislator. Known as a fair and determined protector of Indian interests as guaranteed by treaty, he was murdered for his beliefs by a Texan w ...
met with the southern band of
Comanches
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
and their chiefs Sanaco,
Buffalo Hump
Buffalo Hump (Comanche language, Comanche ''Potsʉnakwahipʉ'' "Buffalo Bull's Back") (born c. 1800 — died post 1861 / ante 1867) was a War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians. He came to prominence after the Council House Figh ...
, Ketsume, and Yellow Wolf near the fort over 10 days starting on 24 August 1853.Neighbours, K.F., 1975, ''Robert Neighbors and the Texas Frontier, 1836-1859'', Waco: Texian Press "All topics of interest to the Comanches were discussed".
Neighbors communicated with
Seth Eastman
Seth Eastman (January 24, 1808– August 31, 1875) was an artist and West Point graduate who served in the US Army, first as a mapmaker and illustrator. He had two tours at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory; during the second, extended tour he ...
, while Seth was a captain at the fort in 1856 and was responsible for the Brazos Indian Reservation, about Comanche depredations in the area.
Preservation
Fort Chadbourne, a Texas state historical site, was also added in 1973 to 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 ...
(#73001962).
The small community of Fort Chadbourne, Texas, is located a few miles to the southwest of the original fort.
Fort Chadbourne has received $1 million to build a visitor's center in memory of Roberta Cole Johnson of
Brenham, Texas
Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
, by the executors of her estate, Charles and Joy Blake. The Blakes are members of the Concho Valley Archaeological Society in
San Angelo
San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
. They also matched another $125,000-allocation to restore the Butterfield stage stop.
On September 20, 2009, Garland H. Richards, current owner of the Chadbourne Ranch, which covers parts of Coke,
Runnels Runnels is a surname, and may refer to:
* Cody Garrett Runnels (born 1985), American wrestler and actor known as Cody Rhodes
* Dustin Patrick Runnels (born 1969), American wrestler known as Goldust or Dustin Rhodes
*Hardin Richard Runnels (1820–1 ...
,
Taylor
Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to:
People
* Taylor (surname)
**List of people with surname Taylor
* Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah
* Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron
* Justice Taylor (disambiguation)
Plac ...
, and Nolan Counties, was presented with the prestigious Harry Holt Award because of Richards' assistance to the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene. Richards presided over the annual "Round-Up for Rehab Supper" fund-raiser held at Fort Chadbourne. The award was presented by Woody Gilliland, chief executive officer of the rehab center. It honors those in the agricultural community who support the mission of the center, which serves adults and children regardless of financial circumstance.''Sweetwater Reporter'',
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is a municipality in and the seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. It is 123 miles southeast of Lubbock and 40 miles west of Abilene, Texas. Its population was 10,906 at the 2010 census.
History
The town's name "Sweetwater" is t ...
, September 28, 2009
Texas State Senator
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximate ...
Grady Hazlewood Places United States
*Grady, Alabama, an unincorporated community
*Grady, Arkansas, a city
*Grady, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
*Grady, New Mexico, a village
*Grady, Oklahoma, an unincorporated community
*Grady, Virginia, an unincorporat ...
, father of the
farm-to-market road
In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better quality roads, usually ...
program, was born at Old Fort Chadbourne in 1902.
File:Fort Chadbourne Officer's Quarters.jpg, Fort Chadbourne officer's quarters
File:Fort Chadbourne Texas Historical Marker.jpg, Fort Chadbourne Texas Historical Marker
File:Fort Chadbourne Stage Station.jpg, Fort Chadbourne reconstructed stage station
File:Fort Chadbourne museum.jpg, Fort Chadbourne museum
See also
*
Texas Forts Trail
The Texas Forts Trail is a nonprofit organization chartered in 1999 which promotes heritage tourism, economic development, and historic preservation. It is one of 10 driving trail regions which make up the award-winning Texas Heritage Trails Prog ...
*
Forts of Texas
The Forts of Texas include a number of historical and operational military installations. For over 200 years, various groups fought over access to or control over the region that is now Texas. Possession of the region was claimed and disputed by t ...