Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former U . S . Army fort and a present - day state park . Located in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska , it is west of Crawford on U . S . Route 20 . History . In August 1873 , the Red Cloud Agency was moved from the North Platte River to the White River , near what is now Crawford , Nebraska , in the northwest corner of the state . The following March , the U . S . Government authorized the establishment of a military camp at the agency site . Home to some 13 , 000 Lakotas , some of them hostile , the Agency was a source of tension on the Great Plains . The camp was named Camp Robinson in honor of Lt . Levi H . Robinson , who had been killed by Indians while on a wood detail in February . In May , the camp was moved west of the agency to its present location ; the camp was renamed Fort Robinson in January 1878 . Fort Robinson played a major role in the Sioux Wars from 1876 to 1890 . The Battle of Warbonnet Creek took place nearby in July 1876 . Crazy Horse surrendered here with his band on May 6 , 1877 . On September 5 that year , he was fatally wounded while resisting imprisonment . A historic plaque marks the site of his death . In January 1879 , Chief Morning Star ( also known as Dull Knife ) led the Northern Cheyenne in an outbreak from the agency . Because the Cheyenne had refused to return to Indian Territory , where they believed conditions were too adverse for them to survive , the army had been holding them without adequate food , water or heat during the severe winter to try to force them into submission . Soldiers hunted down the escapees and killed most over the next several weeks . The event marked the end of the Sioux and Cheyenne Wars in Nebraska . In 1885 , the 9th Cavalry Regiment , nicknamed the Buffalo Soldier s , was stationed at Fort Robinson . This was an all - black unit . During the next several years , the fort was enlarged and military training was a major activity . From 1889 - 1890 , Second Lieutenant Charles Young served here and later was reassigned to the regiment . A black pioneer officer who had graduated from West Point , he was the highest - ranking black in the US Army throughout his career and achieved the rank of colonel . From 1887 - 1898 , the fort served as regimental headquarters . The post gymnasium and theatre , built in 1904 , provided entertainment for the soldiers . In 1919 at the end of World War I , Fort Robinson became the world ' s largest quartermaster remount depot . It was used as a breeding and training center for horses and mules for the military . In addition , stallions owned by the military were used to breed with local stock to improve it . During World War II , the fort was the site of a K - 9 corps training center . Later it was used to hold a German prisoner - of - war camp . The army decided to abandon Fort Robinson in 1947 ; in the following year , it transferred the property to the U . S . Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) , for its Beef Cattle Research Station . In the mid - 1950s , efforts were made to preserve the fort as a historic site , prompted by the demolition of buildings . In 1955 , the Nebraska State Historical Society began to acquire property on the fort ; in 1956 , they opened a museum on the site . The fort was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 . The USDA closed its operation in 1971 , transferring the property to the state of Nebraska . The fort is part of the Fort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency historic district , which includes Fort Robinson and the site of the second Red Cloud Agency ( about to the east ) . The district also includes the Camp Camby site and the 1886 Percy Homestead . The fort is managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission , with some individual buildings operated by the Nebraska State Historical Society and the University of Nebraska . A quartermaster ' s stores building is now used as a playhouse by Chadron State College . The Trailside Museum of Natural History is located inside Fort Robinson State Park . It is operated by the University of Nebraska State Museum . Fort Robinson Museum . The Fort Robinson Museum is located in the 1905 post headquarters building . Exhibits focus on the fort ' s history , including its role guarding the Red Cloud Agency from 1874 to 1877 , up through the housing of World War II German POWs from 1943 to 1946 . There are many historic buildings and sites for viewing , including the 1904 blacksmith shop , the 1908 veterinary hospital , the 1887 officers ' quarters , the 1875 guardhouse and adjutant ' s office , and the post cemetery . There is also a library with materials about Fort Robinson and military and western history available for research . Further reading . Barnes , Jeff . " Forts of the Northern Plains : Guide to Historic Military Posts of the Plains Indian Wars " . Mechanicsburg , PA : Stackpole Books , 2008 . Buecker , Thomas R . " Fort Robinson and the American West , 1874 - 1899 " . Norman , OK : University of Oklahoma , 2003 . Buecker , Thomas R . " Fort Robinson and the American Century , 1900 - 1948 " . Lincoln , NE : Nebraska State Historical Society , 2002 .