Darlington Agency

Darlington Agency Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Darlington Chapel
Nearest city	El Reno, Oklahoma
Coordinates	35°34′31″N98°0′32″W
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1870(1870)
NRHP referenceNo.	73001557
Added to NRHP	August 14, 1973

TheDarlington Agencywas an Indian agency on theCheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservationprior to statehood in present-dayCanadian County,Oklahoma.The agency was established in 1870. The agency established atFort Supplythe previous year was moved to a more accessible location for the tribes.Brinton Darlington,aQuakerfor whom the agency was named, was the first United StatesIndian agentat the agency, a position he held until his death in 1872.

The agency gained apost officeand an Indian school, the latter run byJohn Homer Seger.It became a stop on theChisholm Trail.By 1880, the agency had its own newspaper, theCheyenne Transporter;it was the first in western Indian Territory.

The Cheyenne left in 1897 to form their own agency atConcho.When the Arapaho reunited with them, they both occupied the Concho agency.

The Darlington Agency site became the property of the State of Oklahoma after it was admitted to the Union. TheMasonsleased the site and operated a boarding school and retirement home there until 1922. The state briefly used the site as a drug rehabilitation center before designating it for theOklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's main bird hatchery and research station.

The site was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson August 14, 1973.

History

The Darlington Agency was established in 1870 on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory.Fort Renowas established near the Darlington Agency in 1874, at the insistence of Agent John Miles, to pacify the Arapaho and Cheyenne who had already settled there. At first,Buffalo Soldiersof the 10th Cavalry were dispatched from Fort Sill to establish an installation called “Camp Near the Cheyenne Agency.” They were reassigned to theWichita Agency,30 miles (48 km) south of Darlington, because of Indian unrest in that area. Troops of the 5th Infantry and 6th Cavalry from Forts Dodge and Leavenworth, under Lt. Col. Thomas Neil, were assigned to Darlington.

Neil was authorized to select a site on the south side of theNorth Canadian River,build corrals and a wagon yard, dig wells, and set up a sawmill for the military post. In February 1876, GeneralPhil Sheridannamed the new facilityFort Reno.

In December 1876, the chief clerk of the Office of Indian Affairs. S. A. Galpin, inspected the Darlington Agency. His report was largely favorable to the post. He seemed especially impressed by the Indian school established there, writing that it was "... the largest, and in many respects the best, Indian school that I have found." At the time, John H. Seger was running the school for the second straight year, and had an enrollment of 115 students. Galpin noted that the school was in excellent condition, and that "... the furniture of which is as yet without a scratch made wantonly..."

In 1877, Dull Knife and 900 other Cheyenne were escorted by US troops to Darlington to be interned. The following year, most of this group escapeden masseand fled toward their northern homeland. Troops from Fort Reno and other posts pursued and captured most of the escapees and returned them to Darlington.

Troops from the fort were also used to protect the Native Americans, as they removedBoomersand ranchers who illegally trespassed or grazed cattle on reservation property. In 1889, the troops foughtSoonerstrying to sneak into Oklahoma before the land run officially opened.

By 1880, the Darlington agency published its own newspaper, theCheyenne Transporter;it was the first in western Indian Territory. The Cheyenne left in 1897 to form their own agency atConcho.When the Arapaho reunited with them, they both occupied the Concho agency.

The Darlington Agency site became the property of the State of Oklahoma after it was admitted to the Union in 1907. TheMasonsleased the site, and operated a boarding school and retirement home there until 1922.

The state briefly used the site as a drug rehabilitation center before designating it for theOklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's main bird hatchery and research station.

The site was added to theNational Register of Historic Placeson August 14, 1973.

Fort Reno was declared a remount station in 1908. Its primary aim was to supply animals (primarily horses) to other military units. In 1938, cavalry units were already being mechanized and horses were no longer needed; the fort became used as a quartermaster depot. During World War II, Fort Reno became a prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers.

In 1949, the facility was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use as a livestock research station. It has since been renamed as theDarlington State Game Farm.

See also

• Battle of the Washita River
• Fort Reno