Red River Station is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

south of the Red River at Salt Creek in northwestern

Montague County, Texas Montague County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, established in 1857. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,965. The county seat is Montague. The county was created in 1857 and organized the next year. It is named ...

, United States.

History

Native Americans long used the fertile areas near the Red River for hunting. In 1859-1860, Americans began settling the area as the population of Native Americans dwindled. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Confederate troops were stationed near Red River Station and patrolled along the south side of the Red River, the border between

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

. In December 1863, a destructive Indian raid occurred, which spread from the Indian Territory, across the Red River at Red River Station, through Montague County, and into Cooke County, Texas. The Indians were between 200 and 300 strong, and massacred a number of settler families. They were chased by the Confederate military before disappearing back into the Indian Territory. After the Civil War, cattle drives began moving from south and central Texas to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, and Red River Station was the last stop in Texas on the

Chisolm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-American Civil War, Civil War era to Cattle drive, drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas wikt:railhead, railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and ran ...

. Virtually all cattle driven along the Chisolm Trail crossed at Red River Station. The town grew and citizens applied for a post office in 1873, initially naming it Salt Creek. In 1884, the post office's name changed to Red River Station, but the post office and the community were short-lived. When the

Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway The Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway Company (GH&W) was chartered on July 23, 1886, to build a rail line from Gainesville in Cooke County, Texas, to Seymour in Baylor County, Texas, a distance of . The line was to cross Montague, Clay, ...

(1886–87) crossed northern Montague County, its right-of-way crossed south of Red River Station, through present-day Nocona and Belcherville. As towns sprang up along the new rail line and with the end to the cattle drives, Red River Station faced extinction. A

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

also struck in the late 1880s, destroying much of the community. Rather than rebuild, citizens moved south to the communities along the new rail line and Red River Station again became farm land. In 1887, the post office closed and the community ceased to exist. Today, nothing remains of the former community except the cemetery.

Education

Red River Station is served by the Prairie Valley Independent School District.

Historical landmarks

Red River Station received a historic marker in 1963 commemorating the settlement established on the Red River. In 2009, a marker was unveiled for the Chisholm Trail. Red River Station Cemetery is located west of Salt Creek and due south of the Red River.

Red River Station Cemetery

File:Red_River_Station_Cemetery.jpg File:Red_River_Station_Cemetery_2.jpg File:Red_River_Station_Cemetery_3.jpg File:Red_River_Station_Cemetery_4.jpg

References

{{Montague County, Texas Geography of Montague County, Texas Ghost towns in North Texas