National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
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NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name: _Fort Towson__(Additional Documentation)________________ Other names/site number: _34CH114_____________________________________ Name of related multiple property listing: ______________N/A_____________________________________________ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Location Street & number: _____________________________________________ City or town: _Fort Towson______ State: _Oklahoma_______ County: _Choctaw____ Not For Publication: X Vicinity: X ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: _ X__national _ __statewide ___local Applicable National Register Criteria: _X__A ___B ___C _X__D Signature of certifying official/Title: Date ______________________________________________ State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Fort Towson Choctaw County, OK Name of Property County and State ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: Public – Local Public – State X Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District Site X Structure Object Sections 1-6 page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Fort Towson Choctaw County, OK Name of Property County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _____0________ ______7_______ buildings _____2________ ______0_______ sites _____0________ ______2_______ structures _____0________ ______3_______ objects _____2________ ______12_______ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ___1______ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) __Defense__________ __Fortification______ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) __Park_____________ __Outdoor Museum__ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Sections 1-6 page 3 _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) ____N/A___________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: _Limestone__ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph Cantonment Towson was established in 1824 to protect a new frontier line from the Plains Indians and to establish federal authority on the international boundary with Mexico. The Cantonment was abandoned briefly in 1829, but was reestablished as Camp Phoenix in 1830 as the site of a permanent fort in the newly established western lands of the Choctaw Nation. This fort figured prominently during the resettlement of the Choctaw in Oklahoma and in 1832 was officially renamed Fort Towson (Lees 1990: 55). Fort Towson’s major military role came during the war with Mexico (1846-1848). By the close of this conflict, Towson’s place as a frontier outpost was preempted with the establishment of forts farther to the west and its garrison was reduced drastically. In 1854 Fort Towson was abandoned by the US War Department and turned over to the Department of the Interior, which almost immediately turned the property over to the Choctaw Nation. In 1854 the Choctaw council made Fort Towson the capital of the Choctaw Nation and tribal councils were held there in 1855 and 1856. Many of the buildings at the fort, including those on officers’ row, were subsequently destroyed by the fire in 1857. Fort Towson’s last use appears to have been during the Civil War, when it served as the headquarters of Confederate forces operating in the Indian Territory and as a refuge for Indians loyal to the Confederacy (Lees 1990: 55). Section 7 page 4 Fort Towson was originally listed in the Nation Register of Historic Places in 1970 at the national level of significance for Aboriginal: Historic, Military, Political and Transportation. The purpose of this additional documentation is to amend the nomination for the following reasons: 1) Archeological investigations were undertaken after the designation of this property on the National Register of Historic Places. The update will provide additional historic information based on these excavations. 2) Additional primary sources have been located since the initial nomination and this update will provide additional historic information based on these sources. 3) In 1970, transportation was the only option for exploration and settlement. This nomination will remove transportation and justify the significance under exploration and settlement. ______________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Environment Oklahoma lies entirely within the Mississippi drainage basin. The Red River and Arkansas River are two major tributaries of the Mississippi River that drain the state. Fort Towson is located in Choctaw County, in the Red River Valley of southeast Oklahoma. The headwaters of the Red River are located in Deaf Smith County, Texas and flows along the southern border of Oklahoma from Harmon to McCurtain County. The confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi River is in Louisiana (Hoagland 2006: 10-11). In Choctaw County the Clear Boggy Creek and the Muddy Boggy Creek enter the County from the northwest corner and converge in the approximate center of the County into a single river that drains into the Red River to the south. The Kiamichi River winds around from the northeast to cross through the central portion of the County, meandering back towards the east where it too drains into the Red River that runs along the southern boundary of the County. In southeastern Oklahoma, the northeast-southwest trending Ouachita Mountains dominate a 90- mile wide band that comprises three-fifths of the region. The Ouachitas are characterized by steep, fault-block ridges of sandstone, chert, and metamorphic rocks and by deep valleys formed on shale or slate. Soils are typically thin and leached but due to heavy annual precipitation, support forests of oak, hickory and pine (Wyckoff and Brooks 1983: 84 and Johnson 2006). South of the Ouachitas lies a narrow band of Gulf Coastal Plains and the Red River Valley. The Gulf Coastal Plains consists of narrow belts of low, north-facing escarpments (Cretaceous sandstones and limestones). Loblolly pine forest prevails over the eastern third, whereas oak- hickory forest and some savannahs occur westward. In contrast, the Red River Valley is a well terraced, alluvial setting with plants