Expedition Oklahoma

Ft. Towson

A little about Ft. Towson it was established early in the history of the Choctaw Nation on the Red River, not too far from present day Idabel and Hugo.   It is the site of a one time military fort.  It is one of the earlier forts in present day Oklahoma, established in 1824, it was held as a bastion against the neighboring Mexican border.  

Oklahoma Historical Society on Ft. Towson

Just the ruins of an old military post.  

Ft. Towson at the Digital Library of OSU Near the Kiamichi and Red Rivers the old Ft. Towson. It was used heavily during the Mexican war, for a center for troops.  Famous historical figures once graced  its grounds such as Jefferson Davis, Sam Houston and Davey Crockett to name a few.  

Nothing but piles of rocks and the story that history tells us.  

Why are we as humans fascinated with the past?  Why are we fascinated by the pile of rocks that people left behind of their dwellings hundreds of years ago?  What drives us to preserve the past?  What will we lose if we don't ?   I've never "thought" about Ft. Towson, I've never contemplated where it was, until the day I went to it.  I know it now.  But it doesn't mean a lot to me. I'm not passionate about this old Fort, created by our Government.  

Unlike Doaksville which you can access through the back of a cemetery af ew miles away, an important place for the Choctaw people, this place.  This Fort Towson, is getting a brand new visitors center.  The State of Oklahoma (probably backed by some federal funding)- is building a brand new visitors center.  Why?  Why not build a visitors center near Doaksville, why doesn't the Choctaw Nation own Doaksville?   

At the time Ft. Towson was abandoned photography was in its childhood.  We had black and white photos.  When Ft. Towson was founded, a drawing or a painting was the only way to see it or remember it.   

The old wells fascinate me.  The process people had to go through to get clean water to drink, by hand.   

We can't get so caught up in preserving the past that we miss the future.   Perhaps photography is the same thing, we photographers preserve moment by moment of the past.   It is hard to focus on the future.  

I'm trying to build my Facebook following so I will ask you to "like" it here if you want to continue to view my posts.  Expedition Oklahoma on Facebook

Related articles

Raymond Gary State Park

Loco, Oklahoma

Doaksville

Ft Towson Cemetery (Old Doaksville)

Swink, Oklahoma

Doaksville

According to Oklahoma Place Names Doaksville was "An important early-day settlement in Choctaw County, adjoining Fort Towson post office operated under the name Doaksville from November 11, 1847 to June 12, 1903.  Named for Josiah Doak, prominent early-day resident" (Shirk, 71).  

I went looking for Ft. Towson Cemetery. I did not realize that Doaksville was "hiding" right behind it.   This is one of the most interesting places that I've visited in Oklahoma, in the couple of years that I've been working on my page.   I certainly did not expect to find another archaeological park, filled with ruins of a 19th century  Choctaw settlement.  

My Daughter, who was the reluctant traveler on my journey that day.  Was not pleased to be taken on a quest to run around south eastern Oklahoma.  She would have been pleased to be home with her laptop and wifi.  But, when we found this cemetery and read the historical marker that you could access this place hidden behind the cemetery only by climbing the wall; she was in for the adventure.   She immediately found the way to old Doaksville through the back of the cemetery.  

One of the reasons I created this page was as an Oklahoma History teacher I realized that I didn't quite have the awareness of Oklahoma and its places to be comfortable teaching it.  The text book I taught out of was just boring and couldn't hold my attention, how could I be expected to be an effective teacher without knowing Oklahoma.  So  I decided to learn it.   I quit teaching, but I'm still learning.   

In 1831, according to Angie Debo in The Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic, it was estimated that the population of the Choctaw Nation in Mississippi was 19,554 (Debo, 69).   Rougly 18,000 emigrated during the trail of tears but the number does not recognize the amount of deaths on the walks.   By 1843 the population was estimated to be at 12,000, ion case you were wondering why it was called the "Trail of Tears." (70).  Not only did the Choctaws sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in which they were ceded all of this land (don't forget the land that they were given were already occupied by other people -  the Kiowas- The Comanches- squatters who'd moved in already)  -  they were almost immediately expected to give up a portion of the land to the closely related tribe of the Chickasaws.  

The Choctaws signed the Treaty of Doaksville in 1837, which the Choctaws were paid a half a million dollars to cede half of their recently gained territory to the Chickasaw tribe.  Who also suffered horribly during their own forced removal.   

I did not know this:  "The Choctaw capital was changed back and forth several times from Nainih Waya to Doaksville, Skullyville, Fort Towson, and Boggy Depot" (Debo 76).  Doaksville located a mile from Ft. Towson was the largest town in the Choctaw Nation in its early history, by 1832 it had a post office.  By 1850 it was the Capitol of the Choctaw Nation.

Oklahoma History - Doaksville  

On January 11, 1860 the Choctaw Constitution was adobpted at Doaksville (Debo 151).   

Doaksville is also written about here: Digital Library at OSU- Doaksville

Some of the ruins you can see if you venture down to Doaksville. 

Bricks in the ruins of Doaksville. 

It seems telling to me that the Government of the State of Oklahoma, chose to build a huge visitors center by the ruins of the old Fort Towson, yet this great addition to our state's tribal history is hidden behind a cemetery wall. In some ways I believe this is better than having it be trampled through.  In another sense I feel like tribal history is not told while the military history is glorified.  

A couple more shots from the cemetery before I go. 

Sipokni is the Choctaw word for Old... 

We come here to see the forgotten ones.   Our loved ones we never knew.  Where we came from.  

Related articles

Loco, Oklahoma

Ft Towson Cemetery (Old Doaksville)

The Forgotten Ones

Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Hugo Oklahoma

Swink, Oklahoma

Country Sunday

Glauconite Maybe?

Oklahoma's Alligator Rock

State and Tribal Governments Need More Time To Talk Over Their Water Issues

Troubled Water: A Deep Dive Into Oklahoma's Most Precious Resource

Fort Arbuckle

So, Fort Arbuckle isn't here anymore. You can't go stand outside of any impressive ruins of the 19th century Fort that stood between the Chickasaws and the Comanche Indians, the fort that protected the trail for those westward bound Pioneers.  Built on Wildhorse Creek Fort Arbuckle was a fort that stood on Indian Meridian Road and near present day Highway 7.  

The marker is not easy to see from the Highway.  

Here is a link for some more information on Fort Arbuckle.  Besides this marker, there is not much that you can find of Fort Arbuckle. 

If you turn on this road and go north, for a little over a mile you'll find Wildhorse Creek.  

Wildhorse creek flooded a few years back and it was quite a sight to see.  This year is so dry, we still need more rain.   The heat continues.  These photos were taken mid-July.  

The Fort was located near this creek. 

Stormy Morning

These photos make me think of this song by Sting, called "Wild, Wild Sea" We had a nice stormy morning here at the campground.  Yes, primitive tent camping with free-wifi, so I get my photoshop fix.  It thundered all morning and finally the storm approached.  I'm tired as I type this so it won't be very descriptive.  But, our tents tried to blow away, everything got wet, thankfully we camped at a camp ground with access to a washer and dryer.  The afternoon was nice, soaking in the ocean and floating in the waves....  not much photography gets done when I'm swimming.   

Justin, Hannah and I walked out to look at the stormy sky over the Ocean.  What a sight!  We didn't stay long, maybe five minutes before the gusty cold winds bringing the storm into camp came through.   

very dark, very stormy... but I could have stared for hours at a landscape like this,  I love the tones of the blues in the sky and the sea.  

I love..the ocean... love it, I can't explain how it makes me feel.  We, are sadly lacking the Ocean in Oklahoma, besides the remains of a permian sea, the ocean is not where I live.  

Not a pleasant storm for any of us, scared kids dreading the camping... dreading the wet tent, frustration..but we got it fixed...and it passed by... just as anything that troubles us eventually passes by and times get better. 

and the poor tents, one collapsed and broke, ours lost its waterproof top and soaked everything within... ah, fun. I was "not a happy camper" 

Poor tents swaying in the wind... 

by dinnertime all was well at camp.  Now, the laundry is done and I'm very tired.  This is my South Texas Gulf Coast expedition...  

Fort Sill National Cemetery

Friday morning we drove through Elgin on the way to Medicine Park and stopped at the Fort Sill National Cemetery.   This Cemetery has was dedicated in 2001.  Below are some of the images that I shot while there. 

This was my first visit to a national cemetery. 

I was amazed at the symmetry of the cemetery.  Something striking about how no matter which way you looked the lines were straight.  I never imagined that a national cemetery would be beautiful with all the headstones the same, but it is.  

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.  ~George William Curtis

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" ~Benjamin Franklin

Staff Sgt. Travis Tompkins, this young man lost his life in Afghanistan this spring. He was killed in action by a grenade attack in Afghanistan. Say a prayer for peace, please listen. 

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men.
~Minot J. Savage

These martyrs of patriotism gave their lives for an idea.  ~Schuyler Colfax

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.  ~Elmer Davis

The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs.  The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists.  ~William J. Clinton, 1997

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.  ~Abraham Lincoln  I wish our politicians would take note of this quote everytime they pass a new rule or regulation.  

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.  ~Adlai Stevenson, speech, Detroit, 1952

 

Fort Sill

At the intersection of Quanah (Parker) and Geronimo Road 

A squirrel crossing the road.  Safely.  

Calvary Company Quarters which were constructed in 1870 

One more shot.. 

Old Guardhouse at Fort Sill

If you are in the Lawton/Fort Sill area stop by the base and visit the Old Guardhouse at Fort. Sill.  

My husband reading the sign in front of the Guardhouse.  He has never been here.  Its been about ten years since I've visited.  I go to Lawton all the time, it seems like I always over look the closest landmarks when I'm out taking photos.  

More information about the Guardhouse at Fort Sill. 

Inside the Guardhouse.  

Sleeping quarters at the Guardhouse 

If you head downstairs to the jail, you will find the thick walls that once housed Geronimo.   

The thick walls, I don't think you'd go anywhere once incarcerated in this cell. 

This photo was taken inside of Geronimo's cell.  

The view of beautiful  SW Oklahoma  from Geronimo's cell 

Those doors were made to last.  

The Corporal Missile at Ft Sill's Artillery Museum

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

~T.S. Eliot "The Hollow Men" 

This missile located at Fort Sill's artillery museum.  This surface to air missile is known as aCorporal Missile.   

There is a certain elegance in something so destructive.  A monument to the power created by the modern man, who a few centuries ago killed each other with sticks and stones.  

The might of a super power.  

Borders are scratched across the hearts of men
By strangers with a calm, judicial pen,
And when the borders bleed we watch with dread
The lines of ink across the map turn red.
~Marya Mannes, Subverse: Rhymes for Our Times, 1959

Fort Nichols and The Santa Fe Trail on Highway 325

If by chance you happen to be on Oklahoma Highway 325 heading towards Kenton, Oklahoma you may run into the following Historical Markers.  I believe that the area around Kenton is one of the most beautiful places in the state.  The feel is truly the "American South West" complete with the historic Santa Fe Trail, distant ruins of abandoned Forts and mesas.  

There are other remnants of the old California trails near historic Fort Washita near Tishomingo. 

Historical Marker for Fort Nichols, located on Highway 325 in between Kenton and Boise City. This is the land that was devastated by the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.  

Looking back at these photos make me want to return to the Panhandle, it reminds me of that pleasant August day, which began rainy - I feared I would not get any great photos that day.  I spent the day driving around exploring a new place.  That has been the best part of this project; going to places that I have never visited.  

Fort Washita Part 2

More images from Fort Washita, near Madill Oklahoma.  This is one of my favorite places in Oklahoma.  Its hard to imagine this being an active fort in the wilderness in the 1840s.   The people crossing to go to California in the gold rush, before any railheads.   Its beautiful because you drive up on it after crossing a river.  I love the view from the river near the Fort.  Imagine it teeming with soldiers and supplies coming in from Boggy Depot.  Fort Washita is impressive and its a peaceful place.