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History in
a Pecan Shell
Hostile 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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