Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluence of the Kiamichi River and the Red River in present-day Choctaw County, Oklahoma, it was named for General Nathaniel Towson.
Early history
Fort Towson was established in May 1824, under Col. Matthew Arbuckle, on the southern edge of Indian Territory to guard the border with Spanish colonial territory to the south. It was named for Nathaniel Towson, Paymaster General of the Army. It was originally called "Cantonment Towson." A military trace was constructed in the 1820s as a wagon trail to connect the fort to other military forts in Arkansas. The fort was abandoned in April 1829, and the garrison moved to Fort Jessup. The cantonment was intended only as a temporary facility, having nothing but tents and a few wooden shacks.
Reestablishment and Choctaw relocation
In November 1830, the Army ordered the construction of a permanent fort in the area, as it had been assigned for the relocation of the Choctaw from present-day what became Mississippi, under the Indian Removal Act. A new site was chosen about from the original site. The new fort was reestablished as "Camp Phoenix" to protect the Choctaw Nation. It was renamed as Fort Towson in 1831. Gradually a settlement developed around it.
Fort description
The new Fort Towson was much more substantial. The north side was atop the bluffs of Gates Creek. The fort occupied a rectangle containing about half an acre. The officers' quarters consisted of three buildings on the north side of the rectangle. These structures were built of logs, 1.5 stories tall, with limestone foundations and covered porches facing south. Four other buildings were located on two sides of the rectangle, facing each other. These were one story high, but had higher foundations, effectively creating basements.
Those closest to the officers' quarters were a combination of sub-officers' quarters, quartermaster's office, amusement parlor, and school room. The last two buildings were barracks for common soldiers. The kitchens and dining halls were in the basements. All the buildings were painted white. The square in front of the buildings served as a parade ground. A hospital building was on the east side, about from the last barracks building. Stables, shops and gardens were outside the rectangle on the east. The sutler's building, the dairy and poultry yards were outside the rectangle on the west. The cemetery was about farther west.