Fort Richardson was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

installation located in present-day Jacksboro, Texas. Named in honor of Union General Israel B. Richardson, who died in the Battle of AntietamCarter, R.G., On the Border with Mackenzie, 1935, Washington D.C.: Enyon Printing Co., p. 48 during 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 ...

, it was active from 1867 to 1878. Today, the site, with a few surviving buildings, is called Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site and Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1963 for its role in securing the state's northern frontier in the post-Civil War era.

History

As much as any frontier army installation, Fort Richardson facilitated white immigration and settlement in north-central

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It was part of a system of forts along the Texas frontier to protect and encourage settlement in north-central and

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

. Others included Forts Griffin,

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, Stockton,

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 ...

, 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 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 Nestl� ...

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 ...

, and Phantom Hill in Texas, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Some "subposts or intermediate stations" include 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. The original

site selection The award-winning ''Site Selection'' magazine, published by Conway Data, Inc., is the official publication of thIndustrial Asset Management Council(IAMC). The magazine delivers expansion planning information to over 44,000 readers including corpora ...

was ordered for a location near Buffalo Springs in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

, about north of Fort Richardson. The location proved untenable and unfit for a semipermanent installation. The area lacked timber and adequate water resources, and the U.S. considered it "hostile" territory, with Native Americans often raiding the area. In 1862, an entire town,

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

, northwest of Buffalo Springs, was abandoned due to lack of security. As a result, the

U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviation ...

moved south to the present location of Fort Richardson. In 1867, construction began by the 6th Cavalry on the site along "Lost Creek, a small tributary of the West Fork of the Trinity River", at a cost of $800,000, and occupied on 26 November. It became the anchor of the frontier fort system, and the last army outpost in

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

along the military road to Fort Sill. "Originally a five-company post, it was expanded...to accommodate ten or more companies" so that in 1872, with a population of 666 officers and men, it was listed as the largest U.S. Army installation in the United States. Old-time cowboy author Frank H. Maynard spent time at Fort Richardson in 1872 when he had come to Jacksboro on a cattle drive. Units that occupied the fort included the 6th Cavalry Regiment, the

4th Cavalry Regiment The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exis ...

, and the U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment, along with parts of the 10th Cavalry Regiment and

24th Infantry Regiment (United States) The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African-American soldiers. History The 24th Infantry Regiment (o ...

, both

Buffalo Soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

regiments. Life was hard for a soldier at Fort Richardson. Routine duties included long, arduous patrols along the frontier from Clay and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Counties west to

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a ...

near present-day

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

. Battles with Comanche 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 e ...

Indians became commonplace as the U.S. cavalry and infantry units sought to prove their ability to repel attacks and facilitate white settlement. In 1871 while touring the system, General

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

stayed at Fort Richardson and narrowly missed the Warren Wagon Train Raid. General Sherman arrived at Fort Sill and arrested Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Big Tree, and had them sent to Jacksboro to stand

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

for their role in the massacre. In July 1871, they were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life in prison. They were the first Indians tried and convicted in a Texas civil court system. Following these events, General Sherman authorized the commander of the 4th Cavalry, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, to begin offensive operations against the Comanche and Kiowa in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

. One scouting party fought in the

Battle of Palo Duro Canyon The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a military confrontation and a significant United States victory during the Red River War. The battle occurred on September 28, 1874, when several U.S. Army regiments under Ranald S. Mackenzie attacked a large ...

in September 1874, a U.S. victory that ended the

Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains, and forcibly relocate the tribes to reservati ...

with

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...

's Comanches and Red Warbonnet's Kiowas. The cavalry captured so much of the tribes' provisions that they were forced to move back to reservations in Oklahoma before winter. This battle was largely responsible for the end to Comanche and Kiowa raids along the northern frontier between Oklahoma and Texas.

Abandonment and reuse

After its victory, the army saw no need to maintain Fort Richardson, so abandoned the post on May 23, 1878. "It was used as an Indian school for a short time afterwards". The 55 buildings, many made of stone and cottonwood lumber, fell into disrepair. Thanks to a group of Jacksboro residents, the fort was declared a state historic site in 1963 and came under the management of the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

. In 1968, extensive renovations began, and in 1973, it reopened as Fort Richardson State Historic Park. Today, it is called Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site and Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway. Visitors can tour seven restored original buildings, including the post hospital, officers' quarters, powder magazine,

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cu ...

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormit ...

, and bakery. Two replica buildings of the enlisted men's barracks and the officer's barracks house the Interpretive Center. Guided tours of the buildings are held daily. Sentinel of the Southern Plains

Gallery

File:Fort Richardson Texas Historical Marker.jpg, Fort Richardson Texas Historical Marker File:Fort Richardson Hospital.jpg, Fort Richardson Hospital File:Fort Richardson Pharmacy.jpg, Fort Richardson Pharmacy File:Fort Richardson Period Map.jpg, Fort Richardson Period Map File:Fort Richardson Officer's Quarters Texas Historical Marker.jpg, Fort Richardson Officer's Quarters Texas Historical Marker File:Fort RIchardson Hospital Texas Historical Marker.jpg, Fort Richardson Hospital Texas Historical Marker

References

External links

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fort Richardson siteFort ToursJacksboro Chamber of CommerceFort Richardson
Handbook of Texas Online {{authority control Protected areas of Jack 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 ...

National Historic Landmarks in Texas Texas in the American Civil War State parks of Texas Government buildings completed in 1867 Infrastructure completed in 1867 Native American history of Texas Museums in Jack County, Texas Military and war museums in Texas Open-air museums in Texas 1867 establishments in Texas

National Register of Historic Places in Jack County, Texas

History

Abandonment and reuse

Gallery

See also

References

External links