OKLAHOMA FORT'S CON'T


FORT TOWSON: Established as a military post in 1824 and permanent site selected in 1831. Location of military post was 2 miles northeast of present Fort Towson in Choctaw County. Abandoned by the United States Army in 1854, it was used as the Confederate military headquarters for Indian Territory in 1864-65 and was the site where Brigadier General Stand Waite, the last regularly commissioned Confederate general officer to surrender, laid down his arms June 23, 1865. Named for Nathan Towson, paymaster general of the army. Post office established September 7, 1832; named changed to Doaksville, November 11, 1847; the post office was moved to the present sire and name changed to Fort Towson on June 12, 1903.

FORT WASHITA: Site in northwestern Bryan County, adjoining Lake Texoma. Established in 1843 by Zachary Taylor, later United States president. Garrisoned continuously until the evacuation in May, 1861, of Indian Territory by United States troops. Used as a Confederate military post during the Civil War. Site now owned and developed by Oklahoma Historical Society. A post office from November 4, 1844, to May 24, 1880, it took it's name from nearby Washita River.

FORT WAYNE: Site in northeastern Adair County. Established by the military in 1842. Used during the Civil War, it was the site of a battle on October 22, 1862. Named for Anthony Wayne, Revolutionary War hero.