Fort Graham

Fort Graham, a United States Army post, was established in March 1849 and was occupied on April 17 of that year by Maj. Ripley A. Arnold and companies F and I of the Second Dragoons under command of Bvt. Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, commander of the Frontier District of Texas. The site was near the eastern bank of the Brazos River at Little Bear Creek fourteen miles west of the site of present Hillsboro. According to material in the National Archives, the post was named for James D. Graham of the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Other sources, however, state that it was named for Lt. Col. William M. Graham of the Second Dragoons, who was killed in 1847 at the Mexican War battle of Molino del Rey.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.