History
The exciting history of the Wild West era is alive and well at Hollow Point Ranch. Located just north of the Red River, this area was a refuge for Texas outlaws looking for a safe place in the Oklahoma Territory. In May 1824 a company of the U.S. Army Seventh Infantry established Fort Towson on Gates Creek near the confluence of the Kiamichi and Red rivers in order to bring peace to this frontier region. It was supplied by boats traveling upriver and off-loading their goods to be freighted overland to the Fort. In fact, the old wagon road cut right thru the Ranch property. And the remains of one such river boat lie submerged nearby in the Red River to this day.
Choctaw Indians were relocated into this part of the Indian Territory from their homes in the Southeast during the 1820s and 1830s. Fort Towson provided protection and the nearby town of Doaksville served for a time as the capital of the Choctaw Nation. More than 12,000 Choctaw Indians eventually moved to this region.
Fort Towson
Fort Towson was the headquarters of The Confederate Army in Indian Territory under General Sam Bell Maxey. One of the final battles of the Civil War was fought around Fort Towson and the last Confederate general Stand Watie surrendered to Union troops here on June 23, 1865.
Connected to the East by road, Fort Towson served as a gateway for settlers bound for the Republic of Texas. Notables passing through the area included Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and Stephen F. Austin.
In the late 1800s, this lawless territory was home to many bandits and cattle rustlers. Judge Parker, known as the “Hanging Judge”, established court here in 1875 and sentenced 160 outlaws to death by hanging in the process of bringing peace to the region.
The cattle ranching tradition continues in the area up to the present day.