Fort Supply
Encyclopedia
Fort Supply was a United States Army post established on November 18, 1868, in Indian Territory
to protect the Southern Plains. It was located just east of present-day Fort Supply, Oklahoma
, in what was then the Cherokee Outlet
.
's winter campaign against the Southern Plains Indians
. It was from Camp Supply that George Armstrong Custer
led the Seventh United States Cavalry south to the banks of the Washita River
to destroy the village of the Cheyenne Indian chief Black Kettle
in what became known as the Battle of the Washita. Later, the camp served to protect the Cheyenne
and Arapaho
reservations from incursions by whites. Camp Supply was renamed Fort Supply in 1878 following its role in the Red River War
of 1874-1875.
By 1880 the Indian Wars on the Southern Plains were nearly over and the fort was in bad repair. Army officers in the Department of Missouri recommended its abandonment. Philip Sheridan
, by then General of the Army, objected and worked to establish the Fort Supply Military Reservation giving permanence to the fort and an accompanying reserve of 36 square miles.
Fort Supply was officially closed September 1894 following the opening of the Cherokee Outlet to settlement. One of the last missions troops from Fort Supply performed was bringing to end the violence of the Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War
during the summer of 1894. Troops from Fort Reno
and U.S. Marshal E.D. Dix and his deputies had been unable to quell the wrecking of trains, destruction of tracks, and demolition of trestles by residents from both communities. On February 26, 1895, the last remaining troops turned over operation of the old fort to the Department of the Interior.
In 1908 Oklahoma's first insane asylum was established at the old post and which is now called the Western State Psychiatric Center. In 1988, the state legislature designated the remaining buildings at the old fort as the Fort Supply Historic District. Shortly afterwards the William S. Key Correctional Center was opened at the site.
The Fort Supply Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 (#71000675).
operates a visitor center and is restoring five of the original structures. The visitor center features exhibits about the history of Fort Supply and northwest Oklahoma. The buildings that are being preserved and restored to their original appearance are the 1874 Ordnance Sergeant's Quarters and 1882 Civilian Employee Quarters, which are picket-style log buildings, the frame-style 1878 Commanding Officer's Quarters and duplex 1882 Officers' Quarters, and the brick 1892 Guard House. The Guard House features exhibits of artifacts and photographs.
The site also features replicas of the 1869 stockade
, an army supply wagon, a mountain howitzer, and a Cheyenne
tipi
.
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
to protect the Southern Plains. It was located just east of present-day Fort Supply, Oklahoma
Fort Supply, Oklahoma
Fort Supply is a town in Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 330 at the 2010 census.-History:Fort Supply, is a town established one mile West of Camp Supply, a United States Army post established on November 18, 1868 as a "Camp of Supply" for the winter campaign against the...
, in what was then the Cherokee Outlet
Cherokee Outlet
The Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...
.
History
Fort Supply was originally established as "Camp of Supply" on November 18, 1868 in support of General Philip SheridanPhilip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
's winter campaign against the Southern Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
. It was from Camp Supply that George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
led the Seventh United States Cavalry south to the banks of the Washita River
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...
to destroy the village of the Cheyenne Indian chief Black Kettle
Black Kettle
Chief Black Kettle was a leader of the Southern Cheyenne after 1854, who led efforts to resist American settlement from Kansas and Colorado territories. He was a peacemaker who accepted treaties to protect his people. He survived the Third Colorado Cavalry's Sand Creek Massacre on the Cheyenne...
in what became known as the Battle of the Washita. Later, the camp served to protect the Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
and Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
reservations from incursions by whites. Camp Supply was renamed Fort Supply in 1878 following its role in the Red River War
Red River War
The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874, as part of the Comanche War, to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory...
of 1874-1875.
By 1880 the Indian Wars on the Southern Plains were nearly over and the fort was in bad repair. Army officers in the Department of Missouri recommended its abandonment. Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
, by then General of the Army, objected and worked to establish the Fort Supply Military Reservation giving permanence to the fort and an accompanying reserve of 36 square miles.
Fort Supply was officially closed September 1894 following the opening of the Cherokee Outlet to settlement. One of the last missions troops from Fort Supply performed was bringing to end the violence of the Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War
Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War
The Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War pitted the citizens of two United States designated county seats against the Rock Island Railroad.-Background:...
during the summer of 1894. Troops from Fort Reno
Fort Reno (Oklahoma)
Fort Reno was established as a permanent post in July 1875, near the Darlington Indian Agency on the old Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in Indian Territory, in present-day central Oklahoma. Named for General Jesse L. Reno, who died at the Battle of South Mountain, it supported the U.S...
and U.S. Marshal E.D. Dix and his deputies had been unable to quell the wrecking of trains, destruction of tracks, and demolition of trestles by residents from both communities. On February 26, 1895, the last remaining troops turned over operation of the old fort to the Department of the Interior.
In 1908 Oklahoma's first insane asylum was established at the old post and which is now called the Western State Psychiatric Center. In 1988, the state legislature designated the remaining buildings at the old fort as the Fort Supply Historic District. Shortly afterwards the William S. Key Correctional Center was opened at the site.
The Fort Supply Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 (#71000675).
Fort Supply Historic Site
The Oklahoma Historical SocietyOklahoma Historical Society
The Oklahoma Historical Society is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma....
operates a visitor center and is restoring five of the original structures. The visitor center features exhibits about the history of Fort Supply and northwest Oklahoma. The buildings that are being preserved and restored to their original appearance are the 1874 Ordnance Sergeant's Quarters and 1882 Civilian Employee Quarters, which are picket-style log buildings, the frame-style 1878 Commanding Officer's Quarters and duplex 1882 Officers' Quarters, and the brick 1892 Guard House. The Guard House features exhibits of artifacts and photographs.
The site also features replicas of the 1869 stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
, an army supply wagon, a mountain howitzer, and a Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
tipi
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
.
External links
- Fort Supply Visitors' Center — Oklahoma Historical Society
- Fort Supply on TravelOK.com - Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
- Santa Fe Trail Research Site
- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Fort Supply (fort)