Your a poet in prose! Fort Reno, my father's birthplace, was contrary to belief, not
established until 1875. Its predecessor, the Camp at or Near the Cheyenne-Arapaho
Agency, does, indeed date to 1874. The permanent site was established in the spring
of 1875 and soon named after Jesse L. Reno, killed in 1862, at the battle of South
Mountain. My source for the date of the post's establishment is from the post surgeon's
entry in the Medical Post History, which I have the early years on microfilm. It interests
me that as late as the 1820's and 1830's little was known about Indian Territory until
army exploration parties and road building efforts during those decades increased
knowledge of the area. That a major effort to build the Beale Road, after further
exploration and surveys, plus the needs of the nation and the Five Tribes just a
decade or two later shows the importance of the latest engineering advances of the era
were needed and used.