Fort Holmes

Historical marker location:

Holdenville, Oklahoma

( Marker is on State Highway 48, 0.3 miles south of Old Highway 12 (County Route D138), on the right when traveling south.)

Marker installed: 1958

This frontier fort was established by Lieutenant Theophilus Holmes who later rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate Army. Holmes built temporary barracks for troops in 1834 to serve as an advance base for troops stationed at Fort Towson. General Henry Leavenworth visited here on his 1834 expedition to the Plains Tribes.

Oklahoma was the site of the largest land run in U.S. history. On April 22, 1889, thousands of people rushed into the unassigned lands of the Oklahoma Territory in search of free land. The land run led to the creation of several new towns and cities, including Oklahoma City.