Fort Nichols (Cimarron County, Oklahoma)

Cimarron County · Oklahoma · Indian Wars

Quick BriefCamp Nichols was a short-lived fortification in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, built under Colonel Kit Carson's command in May 1865 to protect Santa Fe Trail travelers from Kiowa and Comanche raids, and abandoned by September 1865. It was the only human-made structure along the Cimarron Cut-off during its active period.

Civil War

History & Significance

Built in June 1865 by soldiers under Colonel Christopher Kit Carson's command, Camp Nichols was positioned midway between Fort Union, New Mexico, and Fort Dodge, Kansas, offering protection to travelers on the Cimarron route of the Santa Fe Trail. The fortification consisted of about forty thousand square feet enclosed by native stone walls, with three hundred California and New Mexico troops quartered in dugouts and tents.

A commissary and hospital were built of stone, while officers' quarters stood outside the protective walls. Wagon trains traveling east from Fort Union stopped biweekly; troops escorted caravans to Forts Dodge or Larned in Kansas, and westbound travelers were guided to Camp Nichols.

Never officially designated a fort, Camp Nichols was abandoned in November 1865. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and subsequently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.