Fort Griffin

Texas ghost towns run the full arc: cattle railheads, cotton towns the boll weevil broke, and oil booms that went bust.

Fort Griffin, now a Texas state historic site as Fort Griffin State Historic Site, was a US Cavalry fort established 31 July 1867 by four companies of the Sixth Cavalry, U.S. Army, under the command of Lt. Col. S. D. Sturgis, in the western part of North Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids.

Fort Griffin started with soldiers before it had settlers — the frontier's usual order of operations.

Fort Griffin is classified as a preserved ghost town: its buildings and streetscape survive close to their original form. These are the most rewarding towns to visit — and the most fragile. Stay on marked paths, don't enter unstable structures, and leave every artifact where you found it.

Its park setting is good news for visitors: maintained access and marked routes, with firm rules about leaving every structure and artifact exactly as you found it.

Head for the state park entrance, pay any day-use fee, and ask rangers about the best route to the townsite — plus any seasonal closures before you set out. The mapped point for Fort Griffin is roughly 32.9300, -99.2300 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Fort Griffin" covers Fort Griffin in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Fort Griffin gets better.