Fort Belknap, Cabin #11

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As we have said before Young County, in which Wildcatter Ranch is located, is considered one of the State’s most historic areas, especially in the period 1850-1890.

The primary reason for this was the establishment of Fort Belknap in June of 1851 located in western Young County. Pioneer movement and settlement in Texas along with the California Gold Rush had been greatly hindered by the ever present danger of the Southern Plains Indians, most notably the Comanche and Kiowa tribes.Due to this, the United States Federal Government established a line of five frontier forts in the years 1851 – 1852. These forts were: Fort Belknap, Fort Phantom Hill, Fort Chadbourne, Fort Mason, Fort McCavitt.

Fort Belknap’s location was established by famous western explorer Randolph B. Marcy and was named after decorated General William Goldsmith Belknap.

Their first location called Camp Belknap, near the present day town of Newcastle, proved unsatisfactory due to a poor water supply and by November of 1851 the site was moved to its final location near to the Brazos River.

In the years to come the list of famous officers who would either be associated with or pass through Fort Belknap would read like the who’s who of the Civil War and would include George Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga, Phillip Henry Sheridan, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Robert E. Lee, who was said to have ordered the water well dug at the Fort, which has since been restored.

Four different roads were established to Fort Belknap including military roads to San Antonio, Fort Worth and Fort Phantom Hill, plus the famous Butterfield Overland Stage Route.It would follow that with all of the settler and military movement through this area, Indian warriors would have better opportunities to raid for the purposes of stealing horses, cattle and taking hostages.

These raids became especially severe when Fort Belknap was abandoned by Federal Troops in 1861 as Texas seceded from the Union. Although the Fort would still be used as a base for the thinly manned Texas Frontier Regiment, the skeleton group would be no match for the large raiding parties streaming down from northwest Texas.

In fact possibly the largest Indian raid in Texas history occurred October 13, 1863, only 8 miles west of the Fort. Twelve settlers and Texas Rangers were killed and 6 women and children were taken hostage as an estimated 700 – 1000 Indians staged what would be known as the Elm Creek Raid.

A second smaller Elm Creek Raid occurred in 1867, but with equally terrible results. Three 19 year old boys were killed and again livestock was taken back North by the marauders.

As in most frontier forts a town sprung up near by. One half mile east of the Fort was the town of Belknap. It was here that Major Robert Simpson Neighbors was shot in the back and killed by an Indian hater in 1859. Neighbors had just returned from Indian Territory where he had lead former Indian habitants of the ill fated Brazos River Indian Reservation to Oklahoma to their new home. The Lower Reservation was only a few miles from the Fort and existed in the years 1854 – 1859. Neighbors is buried in the Belknap Cemetery located just west of the Fort.

In 1867 Fort Belknap was again home for Federal Troops for five months but was abandoned for the last time in September of 1867.

During the Texas Centennial and in the 1970’s, restoration projects were undertaken to restore the old Fort. Today Fort Belknap is owned by Young County and the Fort and Museum are open to visitors.

We invite you to visit our library where there are many books about this historic old fort. Also our information book provides directions to Fort Belknap.