July 9 Fort Robinson State Park, Crawford, Ne

We spent 2 night at Ft Robinson State park, a park full of history that seems so unimaginable.

We also got an opportunity to visit Toadstool Geologic Park in Ogala National Park near Chadron, NE. Unfortunately it was 14 miles down a dusty gravel road that was like a wash board. Have you ever driven 10-15 miles an hour for 14 miles?? I think it took us going it took an hour, returning not as long. Had we gotten use to the bumps and sped home?? The car was no longer red, but  a nice dusty white.

The toadstool rock formations are formed by forces of wind and water eroding the soft clay faster than the hard sandstone rock that caps the rock. There are many tracks of ancient animals imbedded in the rocks as well as fossilized bones. In a dig site near Toadstool  the bones of a Mammoth were discovered and are on display in a Fort Robinson Museum. This was a unique place to visit and it had some interesting history.

The campgrounds once held the quartermaster corrals and stables, cavalry stables, butcher shop, laundry and lumber store. In 1876 Moses Milner, General Custer's favorite scout, was shot and killed under the cottonwoods in the center of the campground.

The Cheyenne outbreak took place at Fort Robinson. The Cheyenne were forcibly sent to Indian Territory in Oklahoma, a band of Northern Cheyenne, under Dull Knife, escaped and fled across Kansas and Nebraska, pursued by thousands of soldiers

Here is an outline of the history of a Fort that remained opperational  for 76 years which is very unusual  
for any remote fort

Sept 5, 1877 Famed Sioux warrior Crazy Horse is killed while trying to escape at Camp  Robinson

October, 1878 Chief Dull Knife is taken to custody after escaping from the Indian Territory in Oklahoma at Camp Robinson

December, 1878 Camp Robinson is renamed Ft Robinson becoming a permnent military post

1885 was the black 9th Calvary, in this time the black soldiers were referred to as Buffalo by the Indians

1886 Railroad came to Crawford and then Fort Robinson

1887 Ft Robinson is expanded becoming the regimental headquarters calvary post

1928-31 4th Field Artillery stationed at ft Robinson

1935-39 U.S. Olympic Equestrian team trained at fort

October 1942 War dog training corp established at fort and closed in 1946

March 1943 German POW held at Ft Robinson

In 1948 Ft Robinson is declared surplus and is turned over to the US Department of Agriculture

1949 USDA Beef Cattle Research station opened; closed in 1971