The Thin Blue Line: Lawton Police Department Pt 2

 

The Thin Blue Line
Wikimedia Commons, https://goo.gl/images/EYDtZS

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Thank you for joining us this month as we continue our series about first responders in our great state, Oklahoma.


First, allow us to say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.


However, we also wish to add our gratitude to those that serve outside of our military forces as well. Also called The Thin Blue Line, this group of dedicated public servants serve to keep us, our families, and our property safe. Our hats are off to you, and our gratitude for all you do.

Over the last few months, we have been delving into the history of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and of the various police departments here in this great state. This month, we continue our look into the history of the Lawton, Oklahoma Police Department.

Last month, we ended with describing how former U.S. Marshall Heck Thomas was recruited to be a police chief and how he was able to get the police department whipped into shape. Heck was most notable for having captured Bill Doolin of the Doolin Dalton Gang. He served as the first chief of police for seven years, until his failing health required him to resign the position. He died in 1912 of Bright’s Disease, called by today’s terminology Acute Chronic Nephritis.

Throughout the history of the town, Military Police out of Fort Sill have assisted with some of the operations of the Lawton Police Department. They were also the ones that were in charge of training the new officers until 1965, when the Police Department started training their own officers.
In 1992, the Chief of Police voluntarily resigned after a dispute over a lawsuit that the city settled, about overtime. The original police force consisted of twenty eight officers, and a chief. Now the force employs one hundred seventy-eight officers and sixty-five civilians.
Thank you for being with us this month as we wrapped up our look into the Lawton Police Department. Please join us next month as we look into the history of the Light Horse Police in Oklahoma.






Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Judge was born and raised in Little Axe, Oklahoma, the son of A.F. Veterans. Judge and Alanna love the history of the state and relish in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna and Judge live with her parents in the Edmond area. They are currently collaborating on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

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The Thin Blue Line: Lawton Police Department Pt 1

 

The Thin Blue Line
Wikimedia Commons, https://goo.gl/images/EYDtZS

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Hello Friends!

Thank you for joining us this month as we continue our series about first responders in our great state.

First allow us to say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.

However, we also wish to add our gratitude to those that serve outside of our military forces as well. Also called the Thin Blue Line, this group of dedicated public servants serve to keep us, our families, and our property safe. Our hats are off to you, and our gratitude for all you do.

Over the last few months, we have been delving into the history of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and of the various police departments here in this great state. This month, we look into the history of the Lawton, Oklahoma Police Department.

One would assume that the beginning of a law enforcement agency would begin with the town. However, in this case, that would be mildly incorrect. With the formation of Fort Sill on the eastern side of the Wichita Mountains, in 1869, there began a police force in the area. The U.S. Army Cavalry served as military and law enforcement for the at-times fractious Chiricahua Apache Native Americans in the area.

However, it was August 6th, 1901, that the land lottery in the Wichita mountain region, as well as the area that was surrounding Fort Reno, occurred. Within a day, the town of Lawton cropped up. With the formation of the town, it was decided they needed a police force, in particular due to the existence of Fort Sill so close.

They gathered their first police officers from former members of the detachment there at Fort Sill. Within one year, Lawton had become quite the boom-town. There were more than one hundred saloons, as gambling was still legal. The first Chief Of Police in Lawton was Heck Thomas, former U.S. Marshall for the Oklahoma Territory. Heck was recruited by the city to come in and calm things down in 1902. He was the one that was attributed with capturing Bill Doolin, of the Doolin-Dalton gang. Heck retained the position of Chief of Police for seven years, before health issues forced him into retirement.

It wasn’t until statehood that gambling became illegal in Lawton. Once the ordinances went into effect, however, the violence finally started to die down.

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Lawton Police Department, and join us next month, as we wrap up the history of this great and historic institution, and its effects on our great state’s history.

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Judge was born and raised in Little Axe, Oklahoma, the son of A.F. Veterans. Judge and Alanna love the history of the state and relish in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna and Judge live with her parents in the Edmond area. They are currently collaborating on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

Facebook.com/authorAlannaRadleRodriguez
Pinterest.com/alannaradlerodr/
Amazon

Fort Sill: An Enduring Legacy Pt 2

 

Fort Sill, Restored Building, Photo Courtesy of the OHS Photo Archives

 
By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

Thank you for joining us for our final fort in “The Forts of Oklahoma Series.” The exploration of the history of this great state has been, at the very least, eye-opening. When we started this series, it was, a matter of minor interest to the both of us, truth be told. With both of us coming from military families, doing these articles really opened our eyes to the greater significance of the military presence in our home state. In last month’s article, we wrote about Fort Sill, its earlier history and waning legacy up to Oklahoma Statehood in 1907.

To recap, Fort Sill was set up as a cavalry outpost on the edge of the Indian Territory to help keep the indigenous tribes from being too fractious. Initially, it didn’t work out very well and required the intervention of the US Army. Although in 1907, the role of the fort changed drastically when the last troop of cavalry moved out and left only the artillery.

In 1911, “The School of Fire for the Field” was founded for artillery soldiers and continues until this day. In 1917, the Henry Post Army Airfield, shortened to Post Field, was constructed for artillery observation and training. During the 1930’s, the WPA (Works Progress Administration), in conjunction with the Army, built more permanent buildings and training facilities. The oldest currently standing building is Building 4908 Aircraft Maintenance hanger built in 1932.

By the end of World War II, the Field Artillery School had permission to train its own fixed wing pilots as field artillery spotters. In 1942, Fort Sill held approximately 700 Japanese, interned by the Department of Justice, most of whom were non-citizens who had been arrested as spies or “fifth columnists,” despite the lack of charges against them. Three Hundred and Fifty of these inmates were transfers from Fort Missoula, Montana. In addition to the Japanese, Fort Sill also hosted German prisoners of war.

The Army Ground Forces Air Training School (later known as the Army Aviation School) was established at Post field on December 7th 1945. In October 1948, pilot training for helicopters began, and the first warrant officer class started in 1951. Post Field is the oldest continually-operating airfield in the US Army to date.

Fort Sill serves as a training base for not only artillery and aviation, but it also serves as one of only four basic training bases in use by the US Army. The harsh climate and rugged terrain allows for the hardening of the soldiers to serve overseas.

Fort Sill operates and maintains the Fort Sill National Cemetery, also referred to as the “Post Cemetery.” This graveyard has several notable facts tied to it, the biggest of which, is that it was never segregated. Buffalo soldiers are interred next to Apache and their families, who were buried next to white cavalry troopers. Three of the most notable names found among the graves are Satanta, Geronimo, and Quanah Parker.

Parts of Fort Sill are open to the public and well worth the time, mileage, and effort it will take to get to the Wichita Mountains, as we discovered on our honeymoon three years ago (Happy Anniversary, beloved!). This diversely rich historic fort has given us an enduring legacy of honor and history.

Please join us next month as we discuss the Red River War (and we’re not talking about football), in our continuing discussions about the rich military history of our home state, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma History: Fort Sill: An Enduring Legacy Pt 1

 

Fort Sill, Wikipedia Photo

 

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Thank you for coming in and joining us for our final fort in “The Forts of Oklahoma Series.” This fort tends to hit a little closer to home, as it is the only fort that is still an active military installation to this day.

The original military occupation of the site is listed as being in 1834, when the 1st US Dragoons established “Camp Comanche” to begin negotiations with local indigenous tribes. In 1852, Captain Marcy arrived to explore the Indian Territory and made the recommendation that the site be considered for a permanent fort. In 1858, Colonel Douglas Cooper also made the same recommendation.

The fort was initially staked out by Major General Philip Sheridan and Colonel George Custer on January 8th 1869. First named Camp Wichita, it was known among the indigenous tribesmen as “The soldier house at Medicine Bluffs.” The installation was later renamed by General Sheridan in honor of his friend Brigadier General Joshua Sill, who was killed during the battle of Stones River, Tennessee, in 1862. The site was staked out as support for the tribal pacification policies enacted by President U.S. Grant in response to increasing raids and massacres just after the War Between the States.

The Indian Territory was quite lawless, particularly after the War Between The States. The only law in the territory was enforced by the U.S. Army including soldiers from the other forts in the Oklahoma/Indian Territory. The policy of pacification was carried out by numerous Indian Agencies that were assigned to different forts throughout the territory, indeed throughout the entirety of the Great Plains.

Some of the more notable visitors to the location were Jefferson Davis, General Henry Leavenworth, Nathan Boone, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ben Clark, and Jack Stilwell.

After several months in operation, President U.S. Grant approved agents from the Quaker Indian Agency to be assigned to the Kiowa and Comanche tribes on their reservations just outside of Fort Sill. The army was prevented from taking punitive actions against the indigenous tribesmen who used Fort Sill as a sanctuary. This resulted in the Warren Wagon Train Raid.

General William Tecumseh Sherman arrived from Fort Richardson shortly after the raid and ordered several of the Kiowa chiefs be brought in for questioning. They were delivered to him at the commanding officer’s quarters, known as “Grierson’s Porch”. During the questioning, he ordered the three chiefs arrested, and they attempted to assassinate him. In memory of the event, the Commanding Officer’s quarters were dubbed “The Sherman House.”

The chiefs: Satank, Satanta, and Addo-Etta (Big Tree) were arrested and ordered to be transported to Texas for trial. A mile from the fort, Satank grabbed the carbine of one of the troopers guarding him, and before he could fire it, was hit by several bullets from the other guards. Satank’s body was left leaning against a tree, and the column continued on its mission to deliver the other two chiefs to Fort Richardson, Texas. A marker commemorates the site where Satank fell. He was buried in “Chiefs Knoll” in the Fort Sill Post Cemetery.

Satanta and Addo-Etta were tried and convicted for instigating the raid and sentenced to death by hanging. Their sentences were commuted to life in prison by Texas Governor Edmund Davis. In October, 1873, they were paroled.

In 1874, the Comanche, Kiowa, and Southern Cheyenne engaged in the “Red River War,” which lasted almost a full year. The last chief to surrender was Quanah Parker. His surrender signaled an end to the indigenous tribesmen involvement in the warfare in the southern plains.

At one point during the 1880s, the fort was nearly deserted when a rumor had been spread that gold was found in the Wichita Mountains nearby, as both the enlisted men and the officers left to stake their claims.

During the 1880’s and 1890’s, one of the units that was stationed at the fort was Troop L of the 7th Cavalry. This troop, consisting entirely of indigenous tribesman, was considered to be one of the best in The West. Several of their members are credited with helping the tribes avert the bloody “Ghost Dance Uprising” in which many tribesmen were brutally killed by the Army.

In 1894, the fort received the Chiricahua Apache chiefs as prisoners of war. The most notable name among them was Geronimo. After having been at the fort for some time, the government allowed him to travel with Pawnee Bill’s Wild West show. Geronimo, with a contingent of Apache, was allowed to attend several annual World Expos and Indian Expos during the 1890’s. They were even able to ride in Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade. Geronimo died of pneumonia, as a prisoner of war in 1909.




Being on the fringes of the Indian Territory, Fort Sill had started to lose significance during the later 1880’s throughout the 1890’s, even into the earlier part of the 20th century. In 1901, the last of the indigenous tribes’ lands to be opened to white settlement was located around Fort Sill. The town of Lawton quickly sprang up, becoming one of the larger cities in the new State of Oklahoma.

The first artillery battery arrived in 1902, and the last cavalry regiment departed in 1907, the year Oklahoma became a state. This marked the historic change in roles from being a little-known frontier cavalry fort to an enduring role as a major artillery fort in the US Army.

Join us next month as we share the more recent chronicles of historic Fort Sill: An Enduring Legacy Pt. 2