After the Civil War, several forts (such as Belknap, Worth and Cooper)
were abandoned, and new ones established further west. One of these
new forts was Fort Griffin, which opened in 1867, It was built on top of a
hill in the beautiful, scrubby countryside of Shackleford county to allow
Texans to settle Comanche country. Along with Fort Richardson, which
lay just to the northeast of Fort Griffin, these forts marked the boundary
line of 'civilization' from Indian Territory all the way to the Rio Grande at
Fort Davis.

A rough and tumble town called the "Flat" sprung up at the north side
of Fort Griffin's hill, where saloons and bawdy houses competed for the
soldier's business. In the late 1870s, the Great Western Trail had a
stop at the Flat before pushing further north towards Dodge City,
Kansas.  

The antebellum Camp Cooper, where the famous Confederate General
Robert E. Lee commanded, lay just northwest of Fort Griffin in southern
Throckmorton County. Established in 1854, the camp served as the
embarking point for many heated battles against the Comanches. In  
1860, during one of these battles, the Comanche Chief Pete Nocona
was killed, and his wife, Cynthia Ann Parker,  was re-captured and
brought back to the camp. (Cynthia Ann was a pioneer's daughter who
had been kidnapped during a raid on Parker's Fort in the 1836). Cynthia
Ann's son Quanah led the remaining Comanches during the Red River
Wars.

After the Red River Wars of 1871-1874, the threat in the western
frontier waned considerably, and Fort Griffin was closed. Today, the
site is a quiet state historical park that is also home to the official state
longhorn herd. The Fort Griffin Flat sits on private but accessible land,
and the owners are reconstructing it as a fun tourist attraction. The
site of Camp Cooper lies on private land and from what I gather,
nothing visible remains.

The peacefulness of this park belies the busy and often brutal frontier
era.
A view onto the colorful, scrubby north Texas
lands from the Administration building ruins.
How to Get There

Fort Griffin lies in extreme northeast
Shackelford County along US Hwy 283.

If you come due North East:
From Denton, take US 380 west  to
Throckmorton. Go south on US 283 - Fort
Griffin will be on the right.

If you come due East:
From Fort Worth, take Interstate 20 west to
Baird, then go north on US 283 (through
Albany). Fort Griffin will be on the left.
Alternately, you can take I20 west to
Weatherford. Take the US 180 exit , and drive
west to Albany, then go north on US 283.

If you come due North:
Take US 283 from either US 67 (west from
Lawton, Oklahoma), US 287 (west from
Wichita Falls, Texas) or US 82 (Southwest
from Wichita Falls, Texas) and follow that all
the way south to Fort Griffin.

If you come due West:
From Abilene, take I20 east to Baird and go
north on US 283.
This marker commemorates the Comanche Reservation site
east of Camp Cooper. The marker reads:

Established in 1854 - Here Col. Robert E. Lee, C.S.A., then
commanding Camp Cooper, held a Peace Treaty with Chief
Cacumseh on April 11, 1854.

The Comanches were forced onto a reservation, which Camp
Cooper protected against the encroaching white settlers. A
Comanche School was established nearby. But the white
settlers, weary of the Indian battles and leery of the Comanches,
terrorized them until the band was forced into Indian Territory.
Fort Griffin Flat is now a ghost town, but
offers some interesting relics. Above is the
Flat's drunk tank, complete with grass
covered roof. To the left is an old truss bridge
with original wood planks and metal tracks
that spans the Brazos River. You can't drive
over the bridge now, but WOW is it ever
scenic!
The perils I go through to uncover history... I discovered this precarious footbridge over the
Brazos River on my way to the Camp Cooper site. There were lots of beer bottles around the
iron ropes - this is like a Larry McMurtry novel waiting to happen!
Of Ghosttowns and
Longhorns
To get to the flat, take CR 184 (first road to west north of Fort Griffin) until you see the restored village. At the
"Y", take the northern (right) road to get to the the bridge.

Remember, this is all private land, so take photos only!!!