Fort Towson was established in May 1824, under Col. Matthew Arbuckle, on the southern edge of Indian Territory to guard the border with Spanish colonial territory to the south. It was named for Nathaniel Towson, Paymaster General of the Army. It was originally called "Cantonment Towson." A military trace was constructed in the 1820s as a wagon trail to connect the fort to other military forts in Arkansas.[4] The fort was abandoned in April 1829, and the garrison moved to Fort Jessup. The cantonment was intended only as a temporary facility, having nothing but tents and a few wooden shacks.
In November 1830, the Army ordered the construction of a permanent fort in the area, as it had been assigned for the relocation of the Choctaw from present-day what became Mississippi, under the Indian Removal Act. A new site was chosen about 6 miles (9.7 km) from the original site. The new fort was reestablished as "Camp Phoenix" to protect the Choctaw Nation. It was renamed as Fort Towson in 1831.[5] Gradually a settlement developed around it.
Fort descriptionedit
The new Fort Towson was much more substantial. The north side was atop the bluffs of Gates Creek. The fort occupied a rectangle containing about half an acre. The officers' quarters consisted of three buildings on the north side of the rectangle. These structures were built of logs, 1.5 stories tall, with 3 feet (0.91 m) limestone foundations and covered porches facing south. Four other buildings were located on two sides of the rectangle, facing each other. These were one story high, but had higher foundations, effectively creating basements.
Those closest to the officers' quarters were a combination of sub-officers' quarters, quartermaster's office, amusement parlor, and school room. The last two buildings were barracks for common soldiers. The kitchens and dining halls were in the basements. All the buildings were painted white. The square in front of the buildings served as a parade ground. A hospital building was on the east side, about 250 feet (76 m) from the last barracks building. Stables, shops and gardens were outside the rectangle on the east. The sutler's building, the dairy and poultry yards were outside the rectangle on the west. The cemetery was about 300 yards (270 m) farther west.[5]
Conversion to Choctaw Agencyedit
After the construction of Fort Washita 70 miles (110 km) to the west in 1842, Fort Towson lost importance. It was garrisoned until June 1854. At that time, it was turned over to the use of the Choctaw Indian Agency, then run by Indian Agent Douglas H. Cooper. A storm in the same month blew the roofs off several buildings and did some other damage to the facility. A few years later, a fire destroyed all of the buildings except one of the barracks and the hospital.[5] The remaining facilities are now managed by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Civil War and abandonmentedit
At the beginning of the American Civil War, the Confederacy took over the remaining buildings of the fort. They had created an alliance with the Choctaw, promising them and other tribes a state of their own if the Confederacy won their war. The fort was used as the headquarters of Confederate General Samuel B. Maxey. The last remaining Confederate Army troops were commanded by General Stand Watie (Cherokee), a principal chief of his nation until the end of the war. He surrendered to Union forces at Fort Towson on June 23, 1865.
The post was abandoned at the close of the Civil War. Soldiers buried in the cemetery were moved to Fort Gibson. The buildings fell into ruin and foundation stones were hauled off by local residents to be used for other buildings.[5]
The location of the fort is designated as an Oklahoma Historic Site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#70000531) in 1970.
^"Oklahoma Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office".
^Tolman, Keith. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Fort Towson." Retrieved January 9, 2013.[1] 2010-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
^"Millerton". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
^ abcdMorrison, W. B. "Fort Towson." Chronicles of Oklahoma. Volume 8, Number 2, June 1930. 2006-09-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 23, 2013.
Sourcesedit
Morrison, W.B. "Fort Towson" 2006-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, Chronicles of Oklahoma 8:2 (June 1930) 226-232 (retrieved August 16, 2006).
Morrison, W.B. "The Location of Cantonment Towsen—A Correction" 2006-09-02 at the Wayback Machine. Chronicles of Oklahoma 8:3 (September 1930) 255-256 (retrieved August 16, 2006).
Rodriguez, Junius P. [2]. "The Louisiana Purchase: a historical and geographical encyclopedia" (2002) 334-335 (retrieved September 10, 2009).
External linksedit
Fort Towson Historic Site - Oklahoma Historical Society
Fort Towson Historic Site photos - Civilwaralbum.com
Fort Towson Historic Site info and photos on TravelOK.com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Fort Towson (fort) 2010-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
January 01, 1970
fort, towson, this, article, factual, accuracy, disputed, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please, help, ensure, that, disputed, statements, reliably, sourced, april, 2019, learn, when, remove, this, message, frontier, outpost, frontier, army, quarterm. This article s factual accuracy is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced April 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles 3 km northeast of the present community of Fort Towson Oklahoma Located on Gates Creek near the confluence of the Kiamichi River and the Red River in present day Choctaw County Oklahoma it was named for General Nathaniel Towson 3 Fort TowsonU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtShow map of OklahomaShow map of the United StatesLocationChoctaw County Oklahoma USANearest cityFort Towson OklahomaCoordinates34 1 40 N 95 15 23 W 34 02778 N 95 25639 W 34 02778 95 25639Built1830NRHP reference No 70000531 1 2 Added to NRHPSeptember 29 1970 Contents 1 Early history 2 Fort description 3 Conversion to Choctaw Agency 4 Civil War and abandonment 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksEarly history editFort Towson was established in May 1824 under Col Matthew Arbuckle on the southern edge of Indian Territory to guard the border with Spanish colonial territory to the south It was named for Nathaniel Towson Paymaster General of the Army It was originally called Cantonment Towson A military trace was constructed in the 1820s as a wagon trail to connect the fort to other military forts in Arkansas 4 The fort was abandoned in April 1829 and the garrison moved to Fort Jessup The cantonment was intended only as a temporary facility having nothing but tents and a few wooden shacks In November 1830 the Army ordered the construction of a permanent fort in the area as it had been assigned for the relocation of the Choctaw from present day what became Mississippi under the Indian Removal Act A new site was chosen about 6 miles 9 7 km from the original site The new fort was reestablished as Camp Phoenix to protect the Choctaw Nation It was renamed as Fort Towson in 1831 5 Gradually a settlement developed around it Fort description editThe new Fort Towson was much more substantial The north side was atop the bluffs of Gates Creek The fort occupied a rectangle containing about half an acre The officers quarters consisted of three buildings on the north side of the rectangle These structures were built of logs 1 5 stories tall with 3 feet 0 91 m limestone foundations and covered porches facing south Four other buildings were located on two sides of the rectangle facing each other These were one story high but had higher foundations effectively creating basements Those closest to the officers quarters were a combination of sub officers quarters quartermaster s office amusement parlor and school room The last two buildings were barracks for common soldiers The kitchens and dining halls were in the basements All the buildings were painted white The square in front of the buildings served as a parade ground A hospital building was on the east side about 250 feet 76 m from the last barracks building Stables shops and gardens were outside the rectangle on the east The sutler s building the dairy and poultry yards were outside the rectangle on the west The cemetery was about 300 yards 270 m farther west 5 Conversion to Choctaw Agency editAfter the construction of Fort Washita 70 miles 110 km to the west in 1842 Fort Towson lost importance It was garrisoned until June 1854 At that time it was turned over to the use of the Choctaw Indian Agency then run by Indian Agent Douglas H Cooper A storm in the same month blew the roofs off several buildings and did some other damage to the facility A few years later a fire destroyed all of the buildings except one of the barracks and the hospital 5 The remaining facilities are now managed by the Oklahoma Historical Society Civil War and abandonment editAt the beginning of the American Civil War the Confederacy took over the remaining buildings of the fort They had created an alliance with the Choctaw promising them and other tribes a state of their own if the Confederacy won their war The fort was used as the headquarters of Confederate General Samuel B Maxey The last remaining Confederate Army troops were commanded by General Stand Watie Cherokee a principal chief of his nation until the end of the war He surrendered to Union forces at Fort Towson on June 23 1865 The post was abandoned at the close of the Civil War Soldiers buried in the cemetery were moved to Fort Gibson The buildings fell into ruin and foundation stones were hauled off by local residents to be used for other buildings 5 The location of the fort is designated as an Oklahoma Historic Site It was added to the National Register of Historic Places 70000531 in 1970 References edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 Oklahoma Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office Tolman Keith Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Fort Towson Retrieved January 9 2013 1 Archived 2010 07 19 at the Wayback Machine Millerton Oklahoma Historical Society Retrieved January 10 2021 a b c d Morrison W B Fort Towson Chronicles of Oklahoma Volume 8 Number 2 June 1930 Archived 2006 09 02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 23 2013 Sources editMorrison W B Fort Towson Archived 2006 09 02 at the Wayback Machine Chronicles of Oklahoma 8 2 June 1930 226 232 retrieved August 16 2006 Morrison W B The Location of Cantonment Towsen A Correction Archived 2006 09 02 at the Wayback Machine Chronicles of Oklahoma 8 3 September 1930 255 256 retrieved August 16 2006 Rodriguez Junius P 2 The Louisiana Purchase a historical and geographical encyclopedia 2002 334 335 retrieved September 10 2009 External links editFort Towson Historic Site Oklahoma Historical Society Fort Towson Historic Site photos Civilwaralbum com Fort Towson Historic Site info and photos on TravelOK com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Fort Towson fort Archived 2010 07 19 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Digital Maps Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fort Towson amp oldid 1220845908, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
