Volume 13 , Issue 25

Expedition to Salt Plains & Establishment of Fort Smith

In the History of Oklahoma, page 29, by Thoburn and Holcomb, there is mention of an "Expedition to Salt Plains." It was in 1811 the salt plains of the Cimarron and Salt Fork (Nescatunga) were visited and explored by George C. Sibley, U.S. Indian Agent at Fort Osage, on the Missouri.

At that period the Osage hunted buffalo in the region of the Salt Plains every year, and it was probable that Agent Sibley was induced to take the trip largely by their representations. George C. Sibley was born in Massachusetts, in 1782. Most of his early life was spent in North Carolina. He entered the Indian service as a clerk at Fort Osage, on the Missouri, in 1807, and was afterward made agent for the Osage.

In 1824 he was appointed by President John Quincy Adams a member of the commission to lay out a road to the Mexican frontier and secure the consent of the Indian tribes. Retiring format he Indian service, he settled on a farm near St. Charles, Missouri, where he lived for many years.

Establishment of Fort Smith
In 1817 a military post known as Fort Smith was established at Belle Point, at the mouth of the Poteau, on the Arkansas River, and adjoining the eastern boundary of what is now the State of Oklahoma.

Civilization was first planted on the borders of Oklahoma in the guise of military necessity. The site of Fort Smith was selected by Major Stephen H. Long of the Topographical Engineers, who had been exploring the valleys of the Kiamitia and the Poteau. The post was named for Col. Thomas A. Smith, of the Rifle Regiment. It was occupied by troops until 1824, when Forts Gibson and Towson were established, and the garrison was withdrawn. It was rebuilt and reoccupied in 1838 and as not finally abandoned until 1871   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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