By Max Nichols
July 08, 2008 02:55 pm
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Editor’s note: The first part of this week’s history column was written by Max Nichols, former director of public relations at the Oklahoma Historical Society.
If you have history photos or stories to share, contact Liz McMahan at 684-2926 or lmcmahan@muskogeephoenix.com.
The more we learn about the history of the Fort Gibson stockade in what is now Muskogee County, the better we understand Oklahoma 19th Century events that moved from early settlers to the arrival of the Five Tribes, Civil War battles and Reconstruction.
These events led to the development of Indian Territory and eventually the state of Oklahoma. So it was important for the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, the Oklahoma Anthropological Society and the Oklahoma Historical Society to explore the original site of Fort Gibson. They conducted a dig that revealed part of the original 1824 foundation near the mouth of the Grand River and a basement that previously was unknown.
The current stockade was built by the federal Works Progress Administration in 1935-36 in the town of Fort Gibson.
Chris Morgan, who supervises the Fort Gibson historic site, said a typical day of a soldier at the fort in the 1840s began with a “morning parade” — a daily assembly of the troops during which the flag was raised, announcements were made, and orders of the day were read.
The archeological effort eventually will produce a future permanent exhibit on how the frontier fort that was established in 1824, said Dr. Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
“The recent archeological dig revealed about a dozen exposed sections of the original Fort Gibson stockade that show a perfectly formed foundation about three feet wide and three stones deep,” said Blackburn. “Our staff and archeologists also are recovering a mixture of artifacts, such as buttons, tools and domestic items.”
Bob Rea, who supervises the Fort Supply historic site in northwestern Oklahoma, and Dr. Lee Bement of the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, led the dig, which included Oklahoma Anthropological volunteers.
Morgan said the original Fort Gibson stockade was built near the mouth of the Grand River to provide a base for military operations to explore the West, seek peace among Indian Tribes of the region and protect settlers and traders. Bement said the post remained open through the Indian Removal period until 1857. It was reactivated during the Civil War and played a major role in the Battle of Honey Springs and the Battles of Cabin Creek among other conflicts.
The army stayed through the Reconstruction and Indian Wars periods, battling squatters and outlaws. It was finally closed in 1890. The WPA built the current stockade on new foundations at the site of the original Fort Gibson. The archeological work began in 2007 and was continued with a larger volunteer force from May 23 to June 1.
“The extent of the remains of the original stone foundations, once thought to have been completely destroyed and lost, have been located in three separate sections of the old (1824-1850) stockade area,” said Rea. “The WPA did not report the remnants.
“The remnants include logs sitting on about three levels of stones. The basement, which was about six feet deep and about six-to-eight feet by eight-or-10 feet, was under the adjutant’s office, according to an 1835 map. It could have been used for storage or for a temporary holding cell. The most important artifacts were the multiple-layers of foundation walls and fireplace rubble that matched archival records.”
Not all the foundation remnants were recovered, said Rea, so the remainder will provide a focus for further investigations. Plans are being considered to interpret a portion of the foundations.
“It’s important to document where the original stockade was located and how life was lived there,” said Bement, “because Fort Gibson played such an important role in Oklahoma history, and because such information can be lost. In 1871, when the post was based on the nearby hill, a railroad was built right through the site of the original stockade. The railroad used a well, which had been dug in the middle of the original stockade, to develop a water tower for the locomotives.”
Domestic artifacts included plate and bowl fragments as well as knives and forks, said Bement. Bones from fish, deer, cattle/bison, chickens and turtles indicate a range of food items consumed by Fort Gibson occupants, he said.
Previous archeological work helped establish the history of sites such as the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah and the pre-historic significance of the Spiro Mounds at the Spiro Archeological Center. These and other archeological projects play significant roles in understanding the development of this land we now call Oklahoma.
• • •
25 years ago
Dr. Frank Evans, Fanny Nation, Cindy Back and former Mayor Volney Howell were judges for the July 4 bicycle parade.
Misty Evans, Froston Back and Brandie Keese were among winners.
Damage from a holiday storm knocked out electricity to more than 720 electric customers. Other damage included a tree being blown over in the yard of the home of Pearl Langston, 201 S. Lee, and the awning blowing off the Ice Cream Palace.
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