Red River Station, Texas

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Red River Station once existed as a small community south of the Red River at Salt Creek in north western Montague County, Texas.

[edit] History

Native Americans long used the fertile areas near the Red River for farming and hunting. In 1859-60, Anglos began settling the area as the population of Native Americans dwindled. During the American Civil War, Confederate troops were stationed near Red River Station and patrolled along the southern side of the Red River, the border between Texas and Oklahoma Territory. After the Civil War, cattle drives began moving from south and central Texas to Kansas, and Red River Station was the last stop in Texas on the Chisolm Trail.

Virtually all cattle driven along the Chisolm Trail crossed at Red River Station. The town grew and citizens applied for a post office in 1873, initially naming it Salt Creek. In 1884, the post office's name changed to Red River Station. But the post office and the community would be short-lived. When the Gainesville, Henrietta, and Western Railway crossed northern Montague County, its right of way crossed south of Red River Station, through present-day Nocona and Belcherville. As towns sprung up along the new rail line and with the end to the cattle drives, Red River Station faced extinction. A tornado also struck in the late 1880s, destroying much of the community. Rather than rebuild, citizens moved south to the communities along the new rail line and Red River Station again became farm land. In 1887, the post office closed and the community ceased to exist. Today, nothing remains of the former community.