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History
in a Pecan ShellHostile
Indians prevented settlement of the area until the 1860s. During the opening months
of the Civil War, Confederate troops of the Frontier Regiment were stationed here
to patrol the border with Indian Territory. It served as crossing for the Chisholm
Trail after the war.
In the 1870s, the population was a respectible 250-300
people and the community was served by a ferry. A post office opened under the
name Salt Creek in 1883 and the following year it was changed to Red River
Station. It closed in 1887. The 1880s were not kind to the community. First it
was hit by a tornado, and then in 1887 it was bypassed by the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas railroad.
Nocona throve
as Red River Station declined. The final nails in RRS's coffin were the establishment
of another rival town (Belcherville) and
the establishment of the rival Western Trail for moving cattle north.
Red
River Station became one of Texas' early ghost
towns - having "enjoyed" a tumultuous span of barely 30 years. Only a cemetery
and the name appear on detailed Montague County maps.
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Red River Station,
Texas Update: Subject:
Red River Station
The books of T Lindsay Baker have left me intrigued with Texas
ghost towns. I now make frequent week end road trips to try to visit as many
as practicable. Your website has
become a valuable tool in this diversion. Suspecting I'm not the only person with
these interests and pursuits, I offer the following regarding Red River Station,
which I visited on a recent "tour" including Illinois
Bend and Spanish
Fort.
Satisfied that I had accurately located the site, based on both
a Texas Road Atlas, and Mr. Baker's map and description.....There's nothing there
but an open field, apparently "the flats" where cattle were held before crossing
the river. The cemetery is on private private property, obscured by dense creek
bottom vegetation, and not observed by me from the passing county road.
So
for other ghost town searchers, if
you're looking to "see stuff," I'd suggest don't bother with Red River Station,
unless, like me, you enjoy driving to out of the way places anywhere
in Texas . - Philip Abel, Fort
Worth, July 25, 2011 |
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Red River Station Marker Text
Photos courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2009
Click on image for whole marker |
Red River Station"Jumping-off
point" on the famous Chisholm Cattle Trail, (1867-87), Red River Station was a
main crossing and last place on trail to buy supplies until Abilene, Kan.--350
miles north.
During the cattle drive era of Western history, millions
of animals swam the turbulent river here en route to Kansas railhead and markets.
An abrupt bend in the river checked its flow at this point, creating a
natural crossing which had been used for years by buffalo and Indians. Even so,
the water was wide, swift, and sometimes clogged with sand bars. Frequently cattle
were so jammed cowboys could walk across on their backs. Besides a cattle crossing,
the station was an outpost of the frontier regiment, which patrolled Texas' northernmost
border during Confederacy (1861-65). During cattle era, a town began here, its
ferry serving drovers, soldiers, freighters, and settlers returning from Indian
captivity. Local cemetery (1 mi. SE) contains many graves of these Texas pioneers.
(1971)
Related Topics:
Texas
Cattle & Ranching |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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