Fort Griffin, now a Texas state historic site as Fort Griffin State Historic Site, was a US Cavalry fort established 31 July 1867 by four companies of the Sixth Cavalry, U.S. ArmyCarter, R.G., ''On the Border with Mackenzie'', 1935, Washington D.C.: Enyon Printing Co., p. 49 under the command of Lt. Col. S. D. Sturgis,Rister, C. C., 1956, ''Fort Griffin, On the Texas Frontier'', Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, in the western part of North Texas, specifically northwestern

Shackelford County Shackelford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,105. Its county seat is Albany. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1874. Shackelford is named for Dr. Jack Shack ...

, to give

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

protection from early

Comanche 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

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

raids. Originally called Camp Wilson after Henry Hamilton Wilson, a recently deceased lieutenant and son of Radical Republican senator and later vice president,

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

, it was later named for Charles Griffin, a former

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

general who had commanded, as de facto military governor, the Department of Texas during the early years of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. Other forts in the southwestern frontier fort system were Lancaster,

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 ...

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 * ...

, Belknap,

Chadbourne Chadbourne, Chadbourn, Chadburn, Chadburne, or Chatburn may refer to: People *Chet Chadbourne (1884–1943), American major league baseball player *Eugene Chadbourne (born 1954), American guitarist and banjoist *Glenn Chadbourne (born 1959), Ameri ...

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

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, McKavett,

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, Inge, and Phantom Hill in Texas, and

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 ...

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 ...

. There were "sub posts or intermediate stations" 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.

History

The original intent was to build permanent stone buildings, but throughout its 14-year existence, the fort retained a temporary appearance. Log houses called “picket” huts, tents, and rough frame structures were constructed as temporary shelter. The scarcity of materials, shortage of funds, and daily demands of military duty allowed for only six of the more than 90 buildings of the fort to be built completely of stone. Although considerable time was spent building and maintaining the fort, the majority of the time was spent defending and patrolling the frontier. Capt.

Adna Chaffee Adna Romanza Chaffee (April 14, 1842 – November 1, 1914) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish–American War, and fought in the Boxe ...

fought the Comanche in a successful engagement in March 1868. Companies F, I, K, and L of the Sixth Cavalry were augmented when Lt. Col. S.B. Hayman's 17th Infantry arrived on 3 June 1868. The fort served as a starting point for many expeditions headed westward, and for a time, it had a substantial settled community that built up around it, catering to passing

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

s and military personnel who sought saloons for entertainment during their free or off-duty hours. It is northeast of Abilene (established after 1880), the seat of Taylor County. By 1870, a very rough town called "The flat" sprang up just north of Fort Griffin, which eventually became a stop-off point for cattle drives headed north to Dodge City, Kansas. During that time, several notable characters and gunfighters of the Old West drifted through, including

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the event ...

, Dave Rudabaugh, Pat Garrett known for killing outlaw

William Bonney Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

(better known as "Billy the Kid") and the brothers

Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

, and Jim Masterson.

John Selman John Henry Selman (November 16, 1839 – April 6, 1896) was sometimes identified as an outlaw and sometimes a working lawman of the Old West. He is best known as the man who shot John Wesley Hardin in the Acme Saloon in El Paso, Texas, on August ...

, who eventually became known for killing outlaw

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

, worked there and in surrounding counties as a

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. General William Tecumseh Sherman and

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

Randolph B. Marcy Randolph Barnes Marcy (April 9, 1812 – November 22, 1887) was an officer in the United States Army, chiefly noted for his frontier guidebook, the ''Prairie Traveler'' (1859), based on his own extensive experience of pioneering in the west. This p ...

visited the fort on 15 May 1871. Following the Red River War of 1874, the Comanche and Kiowa threat on the prairies waned, and rapid settlement by ranchers and farmer put Fort Griffin squarely in the settled area. Capt. j.B. Irvine, commanding Company A, Twenty-Second Infantry lowered the flag for the last time and marched to Fort Clark on 31 May 1879.

Pop Culture

Fort Griffin is the setting of the final scene in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel Blood Meridian. It is portrayed as a center of prostitution and violence.

Gallery

File:Fort Griffin hospital.jpg, Hospital File:Fort Griffin hospital marker.jpg, Hospital marker File:Fort Griffin overlooking the Clear Fork of the Brazos.jpg, Clear Fork of the Brazos River looking from the top of "Government Hill"

Preservation

On January 1, 2008, Fort Griffin was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic La ...

. During the last two weekends of June, the

Fort Griffin Fandangle The ''Fort Griffin Fandangle'' is the oldest outdoor musical in the state of Texas. The musical takes place at an outdoor theater, called The Prairie Theatre, in Albany, Texas. Created by Robert Nail in 1938, the ''Fandangle'' has grown to a c ...

, a Western

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

production, is presented by residents of Albany in the Prairie Theater. The program, the content of which is changed each year, began in 1938 and is billed as "Texas' Oldest Outdoor Musical". In addition, a portion of the official state herd of Texas Longhorns is maintained at Fort Griffin.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Fort Griffin has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.Climate Summary for Fort Griffin
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control

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 ...

Texas state historic sites

Museums in Shackelford County, Texas Military and war museums in Texas Ghost towns in West Texas Protected areas of Shackelford County, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Shackelford County, Texas 1867 establishments in Texas