Historical Marker Program

Fort Towson

Choctaw County
Location: on US-70 at east edge of Fort Towson
Coordinates: 34.017681, -95.253985
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Government; Military; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

Colonel Matthew Arbuckle ordered the construction of the fort in May 1824 to guard the US boundary with Mexico. After Indian removals to the area in the 1830s, the fort served as a permanent army post until 1854. During the Civil War, the fort was occupied by Confederate forces. Brigadier General Stand Watie surrendered his Confederate troops here in June 1865, the last Confederate general to lay down his arms. Fort Towson was abandoned after the Civil War.

Note: This marker was reported damaged.

Fort Towson Landing

Choctaw County
Location: on US-70 at east edge of Fort Towson
Coordinates: 34.017682, -95.254016
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Indian and Frontier Trade; Industry/Business; Retail; Transportation

The Fort Towson Landing was south of here on the banks of the Red River. Also known as the Public Landing, it served as a receiving point for soldiers and supplies delivered by keelboats and steamboats from 1824 to 1854. Traders at the Choctaw settlement of Doaksville and local planters received goods and transported cotton to New Orleans. The cotton went to textile mills in Great Britain and the eastern United States helping to fuel the Industrial Revolution. Commercial navigation on the Upper Red River continued until the early 1900s when railroads surpassed it an as economical mode of transportation.

Note: This marker was reported damaged.