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History
in a Pecan Shell
Remnants of the town are now protected as the Fort
Griffin State Historical Park. The town was situated between Fort Griffin
and the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, the water source for the facility. Since
the fort held the strategic hilltop, the town became known simply as the Flat.
The town, even in ruins, retains its hard-won reputation for being one of
Texas’ most lawless communities. Populated (at one
time or another) by many of the more colorful characters of Western legend, the
Flat had no municipal control since Shackelford county had yet to be organized.
The misbehavior in the Flat got so out-of-hand that the commanding officer of
Fort Griffin declared martial law in the mid 1870s. Undesirables from the Flat
were banished to towns that were short of undesirables. With the riff-raff gone,
the county was organized in 1874. (See Vigilantes
were the law in frontier towns)
The roster of trouble-makers included
Lottie
Deno, Big Nose
Kate, John
Wesley Hardin, John Selman, John M. Larn. Other famous names included Pat
Garrett, Doc Holliday, and his long-time friend Wyatt Earp.
During the
mid 1870s buffalo
hunters used the fort as a supply base. The Butterfield Stage route passed the
Flat (East-West) and cattle drives passed the town going north.
The
town peaked at 1,000 permanent residents – an enviable figure for the times. Transients
added to that number while the buffalo
roamed, but the population declined.
Albany
started accommodating the cattle herds that passed by and even the fort itself
had its contingent reduced. The Flat was hit with a double-whammy in 1881. Washington
closed the fort and the Flat was bypassed by the
railroad.
It did manage to hang on as a shadow of its former self
(albeit a well-behaved shadow) into the 20th Century but today the population
consists of park personnel. |
Fort
Griffin Historical Markers |
| Frontier
Town of Fort Griffin |
| The
Western Cattle Trail Crossings at Fort Griffin |
Fort
Griffin CR188 Low Water Crossing
Above Photos courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2008 |
| A
Conversation With The Family... (of Longhorns)
Photos
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2008
Captions
by someone else |
| "Tell
me that's not beef jerky I see on your dashboard." |
| Trail
drives? We don't need no stinking trail drives! |
| "...and
then I told him: "if you think I'm working one minue past five, you're out
of your mind." |
| The
forlorn longhorn. Ostracized from the herd for a discouraging word? |
Fort Griffin
Forum:Subject:
Fort Griffin Lodge Hall
"...The flag is hanging backwards... See
section 7 item j of the United States Code Title 4 Chapter 1 – The Flag. j. When
displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be
uppermost and to the FLAG’S own right, that is, to the observer’s left. When displayed
in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue
field to the LEFT of the observer in the street..." - Dwinn Ortiz, Administrative
Assistant, Historic Sites Division, Texas Historical Commission, February 12,
2009
Visiting
Fort Griffin? Book Your Area Hotel Here & Save:
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