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 . Army following the Cheyenne uprising in 1874 . History . Following the Indian Wars the fort remained to protect the more peaceful Five Civilized Tribes from the Plains Indians farther west . Soldiers from Fort Reno also attempted to control Boomer and Sooner activity during the rush to open the Unassigned Lands for settlement . Among the units stationed here were the famed Ninth Cavalry of Buffalo Soldier s . After Oklahoma statehood in 1907 , the post was abandoned on February 24 , 1908 , but remained as a U . S . Army remount depot until 1949 . Today , the grounds of the old fort are home to the U . S . Department of Agriculture ' s Grazinglands Research Laboratory . The laboratory ' s mission is to develop and deliver improved technologies , management strategies , and strategic and tactical planning tools which help evaluate and manage economic and environmental risks , opportunities , and tradeoffs , for integrated crop , forage , and livestock systems under variable climate , energy and market conditions . The fort lent its name to the nearby city of El Reno , Oklahoma . Fort Reno was added to the National Register of Historic Places ( # 70000529 ) in 1970 . Land controversy . An executive order in 1883 officially identified the area assigned to Fort Reno as in the Cheyenne and Arapaho reserve , " setting apart for military purposes exclusively of the tract of land herein described . " A presidential proclamation ( 27 Stat . , 1018 ) signed April 12 , 1892 by Benjamin Harrison extinguished all Cheyenne - Arapaho claims to their reserve except for individual allotments , including any claims to Fort Reno – a stance with which many members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes disagree . For several years the combined Cheyenne - Arapaho Tribes have been trying to re - acquire the lands the fort occupied . In 1996 , they donated US $ 107 , 000 to the Democratic National Committee with a memo titled " Fort Reno , " and at the same time asked the Clinton administration to get an opinion from the Department of the Interior on their claims . The U . S . Senate investigated them for their actions in 1997 but the tribes refused to appear . The Senate committee , chaired by Republicans , scolded the Democratic fund - raisers , the president , and Democratic operatives . In 1999 the Interior Department issued an opinion saying that the tribes did have a credible argument that they did not cede the lands that were used by the military . Several attempts have been made by Democratic politicians to aid the Cheyenne - Arapaho Tribes , most notably Eni Fa ' aua ' a Hunkin Faleomavaega , Jr . of American Samoa in 1997 and by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii in 2000 . However , opposition by the entire Oklahoma congressional delegation , state political and civic leaders , and historical preservationists has stalled all efforts . In 2005 , Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe , co - sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn , introduced a bill to fund historical preservation of the fort using funds raised by leasing oil and gas resources under the fort . The bill received a committee hearing but no further action .