After the Civil War, several frontier forts in Texas (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 nicknamed the "Flat" appeared 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 town's businessmen "cleaned up" its
reputation in the 1880s, and campaigned to make the town of Fort Griffin the county
seat. However, Albany, with its proximity to the railroads and heavy local investment,
became the seat instead.
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 but was also founded to protect the nearby Indian
reservations (both of which were disbanded in 1856). In 1860, the Comanche Chief
Peta Nocona was killed along the Pease River in the Caprock, 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, federal law prohibited Native Americans who
once called Texas home from crossing south of the Red River. The United States
closed Fort Griffin, though The Flat hung on for a while until it, too, succumbed to
population loss. Today, the site is a state historical park that is also home to the
official state longhorn herd. The town of Fort Griffin (the "Flat") sits on private but
accessible land. The site of Camp Cooper lies on private land and from what I gather,
nothing visible remains except a historic marker from 1936.
The peacefulness of this park belies the busy and often brutal frontier era.
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 nicknamed the "Flat" appeared 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 town's businessmen "cleaned up" its
reputation in the 1880s, and campaigned to make the town of Fort Griffin the county
seat. However, Albany, with its proximity to the railroads and heavy local investment,
became the seat instead.
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 but was also founded to protect the nearby Indian
reservations (both of which were disbanded in 1856). In 1860, the Comanche Chief
Peta Nocona was killed along the Pease River in the Caprock, 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, federal law prohibited Native Americans who
once called Texas home from crossing south of the Red River. The United States
closed Fort Griffin, though The Flat hung on for a while until it, too, succumbed to
population loss. Today, the site is a state historical park that is also home to the
official state longhorn herd. The town of Fort Griffin (the "Flat") sits on private but
accessible land. The site of Camp Cooper lies on private land and from what I gather,
nothing visible remains except a historic marker from 1936.
The peacefulness of this park belies the busy and often brutal frontier era.
| St. Jean Baptiste Los Adaes Fort Claiborne Fort Jesup Fort Towson Fort Washita Fort Belknap Fort Phantom Hill Fort Griffin Fort Richardson Fort Sill |
| Fort Griffin |
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| Administration building after the boss blew his top. Ha! |
| A view onto the colorful, scrubby north Texas prairie from the Administration building ruins. |
| The only evidence of Camp Cooper and the Comanche Indian Reservation is this marker, which reads: Site of the principal village of the Comanche Indian Reservation. 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 U.S. and Texas established a reservation for the Comanches, which Camp Cooper protected against the encroaching white settlers. A Comanche School was founded nearby. But the white settlers terrorized them until the band was forced into Indian Territory. |
| Fort Griffin Flat is now a ghost town, but offers some interesting relics, like this abandoned truss bridge. |
| I discovered this precarious footbridge over the Brazos River on my way to the Camp Cooper site. |
| The Flat's drunk tank, complete with grass covered roof and a cactus growing on top. |
| Ranching became a mainstay at Fort Griffin (the town) once the military fort closed and the cattle drives on the Great Western Trail diminished. This is the W O O brand (Fort Griffin Echo, 1881) |
| Another snippet from the Fort Griffin Echo in 1881 explains that there is NO WAY theirs was a dying town. |
| The bridge at Fort Griffin (Flat) had originally cross-hatching on its lower trusses. (Library of Congress, historic structure survey). |
| The Great Western Trail helped to make Fort Griffin Flat a vibrant town on the scrubby prairie. |
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