A government report once said the "Red River Country" was "uninhabitable to man or beast," which means no people or animals could live there. But Native Americans and brave pioneer settlers quickly showed that wasn’t true! As people started building homes, the U.S. Army, including the Buffalo Soldiers, arrived to protect them. Fort Richardson became an important hub for these soldiers in northern Texas. The Buffalo Soldiers worked to keep roads safe between the fort and places like the railroad town of Denison. They ensured supplies and messages traveled safely, protected new settlements from attacks, and built the telegraph lines linking Fort Richardson to Denison and beyond. Visiting this area today, you can walk where these soldiers lived and imagine how they turned a land thought to be “uninhabitable” into a place where communities could grow. Their hard work and patrols made this area safer and proved that it was a desirable place to live.
The Red River borderlands of North Texas, where Eisenhower State Park now sits, were a hot zone for Buffalo Soldiers like the 9th and 10th Cavalry during the late 1800s. They patrolled…
Fort Richardson State Park preserves a key U.S. Army post on the North Texas frontier where Buffalo Soldier regiments (the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th infantry) served during the intense…
The North Texas prairie around today's Lake Arrowhead State Park saw plenty of action from Buffalo Soldiers, especially the 10th Cavalry from Fort Sill and Fort Richardson, during the late 1800s Indian…
The area around Lake Mineral Wells State Park, on the edge of the North Texas frontier, relied on Buffalo Soldiers for security back in the late 19th century. Troopers from the 9th…
The lands around today's Ray Roberts Lake State Park in North Texas were important for frontier defense efforts involving Buffalo Soldiers in the late 1800s. Units of the 9th and 10th Cavalry…
The house itself is not associated with the Buffalo Soldiers. However, African American regiments played a crucial role in Texas by escorting the crews that laid the telegraph lines and built the…
Marker #13613 Text: The U.S. Cavalry constructed roads to improve logistical routes in the west during the 19th century. Henry O. Flipper, the first African American graduate of West Point, was an…
Born on September 15, 1839 in Mason County, Kentucky on the plantation of Benjamin Gratz, Lawson Gratz worked as a farmer for his owner prior to the Civil War. Lawson was directed…
Marker #17282 Text: Felix L Lindsey was born in Gallatin county, Kentucky on October 10, 1847. His mother was mulatto and his father was full-blood Creek Indian. He was sent to live…
Fort Belknap was established in 1851 as a northern anchor on the Texas frontier line of defense. The garrison safeguarded travelers along a network of frontier trails, most notably the Butterfield Overland…
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