Historical Marker Program

Buffalo Springs

Garfield County
Location: on US-81, 1 1/2 miles north of Bison
Coordinates: 36.2150336,-97.8872384
Material: Aluminum
Topics: American Indians; Indian and Frontier Trade; Land Openings; Ranching; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Transportation

The springs were a favorite rest stop on the Chisholm Trail on long cattle drives from Texas to Kansas. A pioneer merchant, trader, and explorer, Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee, established the trail through western Indian Territory before the Civil War. Texas cattlemen used the trail until the late 1880s to move millions of cattle to northern markets. The trail ran from Montague County, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas. Buffalo Springs was an important gathering place for settlers making the land run on April 22, 1889.