The Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma

“There was the desert mirage, a will-o’-the wisp that beckoned and taunted. Sometimes it would look like a party of mounted Indians, and the women would cry and begin counting their children.”

– Marion Russell, on the Cimarron Cutoff, 1852

The Santa Fe Trail, a vital artery of commerce and westward expansion in the 19th century, carved its way across five states, leaving an indelible mark on the American landscape. While Oklahoma’s development was less directly influenced by the trail compared to its neighbors, the state played a crucial supporting role, particularly along the challenging Cimarron Route. This article delves into the history of the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma, examining its geographical footprint, its interaction with the land’s early ownership and Native American inhabitants, and its brief but significant military presence.

Of the two primary routes of the Santa Fe Trail, the Cimarron Route etched the most prominent path across Oklahoma. This route, known for its arid stretches and the infamous "La Jornada" (a grueling 60-mile waterless stretch), found respite and sustenance within the Oklahoma Panhandle. After enduring the hardships of the La Jornada, travelers were greeted by the relative abundance of water and potential campsites that the region offered. The state’s contribution, though geographically smaller in scale, was significant in sustaining the lifeblood of the trail.

The Cimarron Route’s passage through Oklahoma was relatively brief, spanning a mere 46 miles. It crossed into the state from Colorado along the northern border of what is now Cimarron County, then traversed southwestward to the New Mexico border. Another, less frequently used path, known as the Aubry Cutoff, also clipped a corner of Oklahoma. The Aubry Cutoff began near Fort Aubrey in western Kansas, crossed the Arkansas River, forded the Cimarron River in northern Cimarron County, Oklahoma, and eventually rejoined the main trail near Cold Spring Campground, northwest of present-day Boise City. The Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma, therefore, encompassed both the main Cimarron Route and a small section of the Aubry Cutoff, making its presence felt, albeit subtly, across the panhandle.

Early Ownership and Occupation

The story of the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma is intertwined with the shifting territorial claims and evolving governance of the land itself. When trade first commenced between Missouri and Santa Fe in 1821, the area now known as Oklahoma was not yet a state. Like many regions of the American West, it bore the imprint of multiple European powers. England, France, and Spain had all, at various times, laid claim to these lands.

Initially under French control as part of the vast Louisiana Territory, the region was ceded to Spain in 1763 following the Seven Years’ War. Spanish jurisdiction persisted until 1800, when the Treaty of San Ildefonso returned the territory to Napoleonic France. The United States acquired the land in 1804 through the Louisiana Purchase, a transaction that doubled the size of the young nation.

However, the boundaries of the Louisiana Territory remained poorly defined, particularly along its border with Spanish territories, including the Oklahoma Panhandle. The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Florida Purchase, sought to resolve these ambiguities. U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and Spanish diplomat Luis de Onís delineated the boundary as following the west bank of the Sabine River, the south bank of the Red River, the 100th meridian, the south bank of the Arkansas River, a line from the Arkansas River’s headwaters to the 42nd parallel, and then west to the Pacific Ocean. Because the Red River and the 100th meridian form parts of Oklahoma’s southern and western boundaries, this agreement placed all but the Panhandle within the United States.

Indian Country

Before the influx of eastern tribes, Oklahoma was home to several indigenous nations, including the Wichita, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche. The Wichita occupied northern Oklahoma, while the Comanche roamed the shortgrass plains near the intersection of Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico. The Cheyenne and Arapaho inhabited the High Plains along the western edge of Kansas, eastern Colorado, and western Oklahoma. Thus, the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma traversed lands traditionally inhabited by these Native American tribes.

From 1803 to 1830, the U.S. portion of Oklahoma remained part of the "Indian Country," an unorganized region designated for the relocation of eastern tribes displaced by white settlers. President Thomas Jefferson had envisioned exchanging western lands for tribal lands in the east, an idea that found support among some Indian factions seeking to preserve their culture. This policy led to the voluntary removal of some tribes in the early 19th century, with the Five Civilized Tribes arriving in Arkansas by 1817.

In 1819, when Missouri sought statehood, Congress established Arkansas Territory, encompassing present-day Arkansas and the portion of Oklahoma east of the 100th meridian. By 1820, most of what would become Oklahoma was divided among the Five Civilized Tribes.

To maintain order and protect traders and travelers along the Indian frontier, two forts were established: Fort Gibson at the confluence of the Arkansas, Verdigris, and Grand Rivers, and Fort Towson near the mouth of the Kiamichi River. In 1825, a new treaty adjusted the western boundary of Arkansas Territory to the current Arkansas-Oklahoma state line, removing settlers to the east of the border. The western half of Arkansas Territory remained unorganized Indian Territory. Only Indian agents, missionaries, military personnel, and whites who had married into tribes were legally permitted to reside in the Indian Territory. Despite the ban, Euro-American settlers, primarily from Texas and southern states, entered this area illegally in the 1820s-1830s.

The Oklahoma Panhandle, meanwhile, remained part of Spain until Mexican independence in 1821, when it came under Mexican authority.

Indian resettlement in Oklahoma primarily involved the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek (Muscogee), and Seminole, collectively known as the Five Civilized Tribes. President Andrew Jackson’s election in 1828 intensified the issue of Indian removal, culminating in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act called for the voluntary removal of Indian tribes from the eastern U.S., but by the late 1830s, the policy shifted to forced cession of Indian lands and emigration to reservations west of Missouri and Arkansas.

The Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee in 1838, resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people due to disease, starvation, and exhaustion. The other four tribes had been forced to remove from their lands in the southeastern U.S. before the Cherokee, although smaller groups of Seminole arrived in Oklahoma by 1842.

After the Civil War, additional Indian tribes were relocated to Indian Territory, including tribes from the west and north, as well as those previously removed to Kansas. Forts Sill, Reno, and Supply were established in the western portion of Indian Territory to discourage Indian attacks, particularly by the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Thus, the history of the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma is inextricably linked to the displacement and resettlement of numerous Native American tribes.

The Oklahoma Panhandle became part of the Republic of Texas in 1836, following Texas’s independence from Mexico. Fort Washita was established in 1842 on the Washita River, north of the Texas border. Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, but it was not until the Compromise of 1850 that Texas relinquished the Oklahoma Panhandle to the U.S., establishing Texas’s present boundaries.

White settlement in Oklahoma was not permitted until 1889, limited to the "Unassigned Lands" in the central portion of the future state. Significant white settlement in central and western Indian Territory and the Panhandle (known as No Man’s Land) did not occur until the late 19th century. The Organic Act of 1890 created Oklahoma Territory from the Unassigned Lands, the area west of the Five Civilized Tribes, and No Man’s Land.

The Dawes Act of 1887 and the Curtis Act of 1898 further eroded Indian land ownership, breaking up reservations and allowing "surplus" lands to be sold to non-Indians. The Oklahoma land rushes between 1889 and 1905 opened surplus Indian land to homesteaders. The Oklahoma Enabling Act of 1906 paved the way for the creation of the state of Oklahoma, which ultimately incorporated both Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory in 1907.

Civil War and the Santa Fe Trail

The Civil War significantly impacted the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma. Union forces withdrew into Kansas Territory, ceding control of Indian Territory to the Confederacy. While some factions within the Five Tribes advocated for neutrality, the removal of Union forces and federal funding led to an alliance with the Confederacy. Confederate negotiator Albert Pike promised tribal land ownership, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis envisioned turning the Five Tribes’ lands into a state.

No major Civil War battles occurred in Oklahoma, but numerous skirmishes took place, particularly in the eastern part of the future state. Union and Confederate forces, along with guerilla bands, plundered tribal resources and destroyed infrastructure. By the war’s end, the region was devastated. The tribes’ alliance with the Confederacy led to the abrogation of earlier treaty agreements, and in 1866, Congress authorized the cancellation of all existing treaties with the Five Tribes, forcing them to cede large portions of their lands to immigrant tribes being expelled from Kansas.

Camp Nichols, established in May 1865, was the only military post along the Oklahoma portion of the Santa Fe Trail. General James H. Carleton ordered Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson to establish a halfway post between the Cimarron Crossing of the Arkansas River and Fort Union in New Mexico. This post, intended to protect wagon trains from Indian raids, was located on high ground between two forks of South Carrizozo Creek, north of the Santa Fe Trail and east of Cedar Spring.

The post was constructed and manned by New Mexico and California volunteers who escorted wagon trains and protected traffic from Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho raids. The small fort consisted of stone-walled dugouts with dirt floors and roofs, forming an enclosure with a moat. Approximately 300 soldiers lived in tents and dugouts within the enclosure, along with Indian scouts and laundresses.

Wagon trains assembled at Camp Nichols before being escorted to the Arkansas River. However, the post was abandoned in late September 1865, as Indian raids decreased.

Despite the Santa Fe Trail crossing Cimarron County, it had limited impact on the trade and development of the Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, or the future state. The Missouri to Santa Fe route was less significant to Oklahoma than to other states it crossed. Josiah Gregg’s livestock route, which ran across Oklahoma from Van Buren, Arkansas, into New Mexico, generally followed the Canadian River and had a greater impact.

No towns were established along the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma during its active period. Wheeless, the only populated place in the general trail corridor, was not settled until 1907 and was located a few miles south of the trail. The only manmade structures built during the trail’s period were Camp Nichols and Cold Spring stage station, both temporary and of short duration. A branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was built across Cimarron County but did not follow the trail’s route.

While some members of the Indian Nations may have been employed by trail freighters, the Santa Fe Trail in Oklahoma ultimately left a relatively small mark on the state’s development compared to other states along its route.

Also See:

Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail Detail & Timeline

Santa Fe Trail People

Santa Fe Trail Routes