Fort Richardson , Texas Fort Richardson was an United States Army installation located one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) south of Jacksboro , Texas . Named in honor of Union General Israel B . Richardson , who died in the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War , it was active from 1867 to 1878 . Today the site is called Fort Richardson State Park , Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway History . As much as any frontier army installation , Fort Richardson was responsible for the Anglo settlement in north central Texas . It was one installation in a system of forts along the Texas frontier to protect and encourage settlement in north central and west Texas . Other forts in the frontier fort system were Forts Griffin , Concho , Belknap , Chadbourne , Fort Stockton , Fort Davis , Fort Bliss , McKavett , Clark , Fort McIntosh , Fort Inge and Phantom Hill in Texas , and Fort Sill in Oklahoma . There were " sub posts or intermediate stations " including Bothwick ' s Station on Salt Creek between Fort Richardson and Fort Belknap , Camp Wichita near Buffalo Springs between Fort Richardson and Red River Station , and Mountain Pass between Fort Concho and Fort Griffin . The original site selection was ordered for a location near Buffalo Springs in Clay County approximately north of Fort Richardson . The location proved untenable and unfit for the establishment of a semi - permanent installation . The area lacked timber , adequate water resources , and was still completely hostile territory , with Native Americans often wreaking havoc in the area . In 1862 , the entire town of Henrietta , northwest of Buffalo Springs , was abandoned because of the lack of security . In short , the area was more than inhospitable . As a result , the Sixth United States Cavalry moved south to the present location of Fort Richardson . In 1867 , construction began by the Sixth Cavalry on the site along " Lost Creek , a small tributary of the West Fork of the Trinity River " , at a cost of $ 800 , 000 , and occupied on 26 November . It became the anchor of the frontier fort system , and the last army outpost in north Texas along the military road to Fort Sill . " Originally a five company post , it was expanded . . . to accommodate ten or more companies " so that in 1872 , with a population of 666 officers and men , it was listed as the largest U . S . Army installation in the United States . The old - time cowboy author Frank H . Maynard spent time at Fort Richardson in 1872 while he had come to Jacksboro on a cattle drive . Units that occupied the fort included the 6th Cavalry Regiment , 4th Cavalry Regiment , and the U . S . 11th Infantry Regiment , along with elements of the 10th Cavalry Regiment and 24th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) , both Buffalo Soldier regiments . Life was hard for a soldier at Fort Richardson , and routine duties included long , arduous patrols along the Texas frontier from Clay and Jack counties west to Palo Duro Canyon near present - day Amarillo . Battles with Comanche and Kiowa Indians became commonplace as the cavalry and infantry units sought to prove their ability to repel Indian attacks and allow settlement . In 1871 while on a tour of the frontier fort system , General William T . Sherman stayed at Fort Richardson and narrowly missed the Warren Wagon Train Raid . Once General Sherman arrived at Fort Sill , he arrested Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Big Tree and had them sent to Jacksboro to stand trial for their role in the massacre . In July 1871 , they were tried , convicted , and sentenced to death , which was later commuted to life in prison . They were the first Indians tried and convicted in the Texas civil court system . Following these events , General Sherman authorized the commander of the Fourth Cavalry , Colonel Ranald S . Mackenzie , to begin offensive operations against Comanches and Kiowas in the Texas Panhandle . One of these scouting parties fought the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon in September 1874 , an absolute U . S victory that ended the Red River War with Quanah Parker ' s Comanches and Red Warbonnet ' s Kiowas . The cavalry captured so much of the tribes ' provisions that they were forced to move back to the reservations in Oklahoma before winter . This battle and the total victory for MacKenzie ' s forces were largely responsible for the end to Comanche and Kiowa raiding along the Texas northern frontier . Abandonment and Reuse . Following this decisive victory , the army no longer saw a need to maintain Fort Richardson and abandoned the post in May 23 , 1878 . " It was used as an Indian school for a short time afterwards " . The 55 buildings , many made of stone and cottonwood lumber , fell into disrepair . Thanks to an intrepid group of Jacksboro residents , the fort was declared a state historic site in 1963 and came under the management of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department . In 1968 extensive renovations began and in 1973 , the fort reopened as the Fort Richardson State Historic Park . Today the site is called Fort Richardson State Park , Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway . Visitors can tour seven restored original buildings , including the post hospital , officers ' quarters , powder magazine , morgue , commissary , guardhouse and bakery . There are also two replica buildings of the enlisted men ' s barracks and the officer ' s barracks , which houses the Interpretive Center . Guided tours of the buildings are held daily .