Where Are They Now? The Freedmen of Garrett’s Bluff

Where Are They Now? The Freedmen of Garrett’s Bluff

      Across the Red River, two small communities, Bluff, Indian Territory and Garrett’s Bluff, Texas, once shared more than just proximity. Separated only by the river’s winding waters, these two towns became linked by the lives of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen who moved between them, establishing deep ties that remain partially hidden in the folds of history. Between 1899 and 1901, Freedmen from the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations frequently listed Garrett’s Bluff or Bluff, Indian Territory as their post office, underscoring a connection that suggests more than mere convenience, it hints at a shared history of migration, settlement, and adaptation.

 

   But how far back does this connection go? Did Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen establish roots in Garrett’s Bluff, Texas before staking claims on their Indian Territory land allotments? Or did Garrett’s Bluff serve more as a temporary stop along the uncertain path to citizenship and stability in Indian Territory?

   The story of Garrett’s Bluff begins with the establishment of its post office in 1873, named after Jesse Garrett, who operated the ferry that provided a vital crossing point over the Red River. The post office remained under that name until 1880, briefly changing to “Garrett’s” from 1881 to 1893 before reverting to Garrett’s Bluff during the critical period of the Dawes Land Allotment process. By 1899, when Freedmen were applying for their allotments, Garrett’s Bluff was a familiar landmark, a place where at least thirty Freedmen households regularly received mail.

 

   What drew so many Freedmen to this small outpost on the Red River’s Texas side? By 1890, Garrett’s Bluff had reached a modest peak population of about 250 people. Did Freedmen make up part of that number? If so, had they come seeking work, refuge, or community? Cotton and livestock shipments were key economic activities in the area around 1885, were any of the local farmers who profited from these trades former slave owners in Indian Territory? The historical connections between enslavers and the Freedmen who once worked their lands may have extended across state lines, complicating the notion of freedom and settlement.

   One clue to the nature of this community lies in the town’s educational history. According to the Texas State Historical Association, Garrett’s Bluff had a school operating in 1896 with one teacher and 110 students. Were any of those students Freedmen children? If so, this would suggest that Freedmen families were not just passing through Garrett’s Bluff, but were attempting to establish stable lives there, participating in the social and educational fabric of the town. Did any of these children later appear on Dawes Rolls as Choctaw or Chickasaw citizens?

 

   The question of where these Freedmen ultimately settled remains open. After receiving their land allotments, did they return to Indian Territory to blend into the emerging communities of Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen? Or did they remain in Texas, merging into the African American communities of towns like Gainesville? Tracing their descendants could provide answers, but it would also unearth the complex legacy of displacement, resilience, and adaptation that defines the history of Freedmen in Indian Territory and Texas.

 

   Garrett’s Bluff sits at the crossroads of history, a place shaped by the forced migration of Native nations, the legacy of enslavement, and the promise of land ownership that was often complicated by exclusion and broken treaties. The Freedmen who listed Garrett’s Bluff as their post office were not simply passing through; they were staking a claim to belonging, whether in Texas, Indian Territory, or both. Their story is more than a matter of geography, it is a testament to survival, adaptation, and the quiet but profound determination to find a place to call home.

Freedmen of Garrett's Bluff, Texas Circa 1899?

1. BUCKNER, Henry_CHOF#480
2. COLBERT, Stephen_CHOF#1375
3. COLE, Dora_CHOF#482
4. DAVIS, Helen_CHOF#481
5. FREEMAN, David_CHOF#493
6. FREEMAN, Ed_CHOF#476
7. FREEMAN, Will_CHOF#490
8. GREEN, Cooper_CHOF#472
9. HENDRICKS, Cynthia_CHOF#477
10. HOLMAN, Davis_CHIF#1258
11. HOLMAN, Harry_CHIF#1396
12. JEFFERSON, Josephine_CHIF#1250
13. JOHNSON, Andrew_CHIF#1480
14. JOHNSON-MOORE, Louisa_CHOF#488
15. JONES, Maria_CHOF#478
16. LANE, Susan_CHIF#1397
17. LEWIS, Caroline_CHIF#D-046
18. LEWIS, Emma_CHOF#856
19. LEWIS, Lee_CHOF#D26
20. LEWIS, Lena_CHOF#479
21. ROEBUCK, Adeline&WILSON,Sarah_CHOF#484
22. ROEBUCK, Ben_CHOF#485
23. ROEBUCK, Hannah_CHOF#486
24. ROSE, Jeff_CHOF#1310
25. TUCKER, Louisa_CHIF#1254
26. WILLIAMS.Matilda_CHOF#473
27. WILLIAMS, Simon_CHOF#506
28. WILLIAMMS, Spencer_CHIF#1257
29. WILSON, Louisa_CHOF#475
30. WILLIAMS, Willie_CHIF#1256

Freedmen of Bluff, Indian Territory Circa 1899

1. BUCKNER, Margaret_CHOF#1317
2. DANGERFIELD, Rhoda_CHOF#1319
3. EPPS, Winnie_CHOF#1321
4. HAMPTON, Nancy_CHOF#1486
5. JOHNSON, Amos_CHOF#1315
6. LEWIS, Alice_CHOF#1350
7. LEWIS, Elsie_CHOF#1484
8. ROSE, Jeffie_CHOF#1316
9. ROSE, Louisa_CHOF#1318
10. WILSON, Minerva_CHOF#1485