"The stone monument at this location is one of Nebraska's original bench marks.
Surveyors use bench marks to determine elevations. This one was placed by the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey in 1902. It was part of a larger project in which a sea-level based elevation was carried by surveyors from coast to coast. This established the state's first precise levels.
Today this marker, designated "H 4," is approximately 3,786 feet above mean sea level."
]]>Black soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth cavalry regiments (called "buffalo soldiers" by the Plains Indians) garrisoned Fort Robinson for eighteen years and played an important role in northwestern Nebraska's history. Organized in 1866, the regiments first served in the Southwest. In 1885 the Ninth Cavalry arrived at Fort Robinson, which was regimental headquarters from 1887 to 1898. The black troopers helped build the new post during the fort's 1887 expansion and were the first cavalrymen sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation during the Ghost Dance trouble of 1890. Lt. John Alexander, the second African American graduate of West Point, and Henry Plummer, the first black chaplain in the regular army, served here. So did ten buffalo soldier Medal of Honor men. In 1902 the men of the "Fighting Tenth" Cavalry, veterans of the Battle of San Juan Hill, made their headquarters here. Four years later the Tenth helped capture Ute Indians who had fled their Utah reservation, the last military action against Indians on the northern Plains. In 1907 the regiment left for duty in the Philippines.
]]>The first recorded interment in the Fort Robinson Cemetery was James Brogan, July 2, 1875; the last was Fred Lester, June 13, 1945. Among the 258 interments listed in the cemetery records are two officers, Markland Williamson and James A. Swift; two Army scouts, Moses "California Joe" Milner (Custer's favorite scout) and Baptiste "Little Bat" Garnier; ten men killed in the January 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak; two Medal of Honor recipients, Emanuel Stance and George Jordon; and about 140 women and children, dependents of service personnel.
Its location at the confluence of Soldier Creek and the White River made the Fort Robinson Cemetery subject to frequent flooding. In 1926 E.A. Brininstool, chronicler of the West, was shocked to find the cemetery overrun with weeds and underbrush. Later, caretakers were appointed, and the cemetery was well maintained until the post closed.
Shortly before the army abandoned Fort Robinson in 1948, most of the remaining graves, 23 listed as unknown, were moved to Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell, Nebraska.
]]>In March, 1874, the U.S. Government authorized the establishment of a military camp at the Red Cloud Agency on the White River. Home of some 13,000 Indians, many of whom were hostile, the Agency was one of the most troublesome spots on the Plains. The camp was named Camp Robinson in honor of Lt. Levi H. Robinson, who had been killed by Indians the previous month. In May, the camp was re-located on this site, and in January, 1878, was officially designated Fort Robinson. Fort Robinson played an important role in the Indian wars from 1876 to 1890. Crazy Horse surrendered here on May 6, 1877, and was mortally wounded that September while resisting imprisonment. In January, 1879, the Fort was the scene of a major battle as the result of the Cheyenne Outbreak led by Chief Dull Knife. In the 20th Century, Fort Robinson became the world's largest military remount depot, and during the second World War, was the site of a K-9 corps training center, and German prisoner-of-war camp. The Fort's deactivation following the war, marked the end of more than 70 years of service as Nebraska's "outpost on the plains."
For more (including 3 images & 1 video) view the original article
]]>In 1921 the Nebraska State Legislature created a State Park Board within the Department of Public Works. In 1923, the law was amended by attaching the Board to the Department of Horticulture of the University of Nebraska. The Legislature of 1929 replaced the State Park Board and the Bureau of Game and Fish with a new agency, the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. In 1967, it was designated by the Legislature as the State Game and Parks Commission.
Chadron State Park was established by a legislative act approved April 25, 1921 and introduced by Senator James Good and Representative George Snow, both of Chadron. This act set aside a section of school land as the first Nebraska State Park. Fifty years later, in 1971, the Parks System had expanded to 93 areas. The Chadron area was once the scene of bitter warfare between the fierce migratory plains Indians and the whites. Later the region was the center of disputes between ranchers and homesteaders who competed for the land from which the Indians had been dispossessed. Today, Chadron, along with other State Parks, provides excellent scenic and recreational areas for the visitor.
]]>From about 1846 until 1872, an Indian "trading house" occupied a site near here. Built by James Bordeaux, the trading station was once attacked and set afire by hostile Crow warriors. Fortunately, some friendly Sioux Indians came to the rescue and drove off the attacking Crow. James Bordeaux was from a French settlement near St. Louis and while yet a young boy, he went west with fur traders. Bordeaux was active in the fur trade in the vicinity of Fort Laramie from the 1830's until the 1870's. In the 1840's, he served as host to the explorer John C. Fremont and the historian Francis Parkman. He left his name to Bordeaux Bend near Fort Laramie, scene of the Grattan Massacre. His name also survives in the name of Bordeaux Creek, near this marker. The Indians brought buffalo robes, furs, and ponies to this post to trade for guns, powder, beads, blankets, an d whiskey. Some of the weapons may have been used against the troops at Fort Phil Kearny and Custer's troops at the Little Big Horn. The story of James Bordeaux's life is the story of the Upper Missouri country from the 1830's-1870's.
]]>