End of an era: Fort Griffin closes down
144 years ago on May 31st, 1881
On this day in 1881, Capt. J. B. Irvine closed Fort Griffin and marched its single remaining army unit, Company A, Twenty-second Infantry, southward toward Fort Clark. Fort Griffin, a strategic unit in the string of border and frontier outposts defending Texas settlers against hostile Indians and outlaws, was established in 1867. It was located on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River in northeast Shackelford County. In time, Griffin became the nucleus of the border-defense line from Fort Richardson at Jacksboro to the Big Bend country. By 1879 the southern buffalo herd was depleted, and the fort and its outposts were within a settled area. Having lost its reason for being, the post was closed in 1881.
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From Cabeza de Vaca's ship-wreck in 1528 through the Texas Revolution to present day—almost 500 years of recorded history—a myriad of significant events in Texas history have occurred. These events are arranged by day of the year to allow the reader to see into the past on any specific day.
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