Danny,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply on "Cochrans." What a historically important combination of Gfathers (Gov. Colbert & R.L. Cochran) you have. Ken Martin, Bruce Schulze and I visited Cochrans Cemetery a few weeks ago (on April 20), so I understand a bit of what you described. I sometimes have problems separating my interests in history of an area, and Civil War history of the same. To realize that "Cochran's Store" was bigger and more important than Ada, once upon a time, is astonishing to me.

The 1871 USA's BLM Initial Land Survey of Chickasaw Nation shows only one "House" at Cochran's, and the Survey calls the road passing by the "Texas Cattle Trail." To me, this confirms most of your story about Cochrans. It also shows that new "old Stonewall" was already developing. This suggest that W.L. and A.O. Cochran (among others) have already settled on the east side of Clear Boggy, as you noted. I understand that A.O. moved out West to IT in 1870.

Given the above, I have two questions:

1) Where do you think Colbert Institute was located, given the sentinel foundation stones and old cedar trees you mentioned? Apparently, Colbert Institute, the pride and joy of Gov. Winchester Colbert (even when he lived near Perryville), only operated (near Clear Boggy Crossing) for the time 1857-1861 after it was moved into the heart of the newly defined Chickasaw Nation. My prior understanding was that it was located near the later Frisco Cemetery.

2) Do you think it was possible that Cochran' Trading Post, Store and Post Office were all located in the same "store building" when Col. Phillips command killed R.L., and then burned the whole thing down, but not momma's (Cincy?) house?

As the 1871 U.S. BLM Land survey shows, there was a house at Cochrans in 1871, either the old house, or a new one that perhaps W.L. has rebuilt for his uncle's widow. If it is a new house, then Col. Phillips burned the whole town (and community) down in February 1864! Even the Pontotoc Court House is gone.

Thanks for your special insights.

Carroll

While this post is directed to Danny Knight, I invite a new discussion of the mission and conduct of Phillips' Expedition of 1864 into Indian Territory. It seems to me that for three weeks during February 1864, Phillips Federal command conducted a bloody, savage campaign of terror against the Confederate Creek, Seminole, and Chickasaw Nations. Unfortunately, Phillips did what is set out to do. Even two brave head men (Jumper and Colbert) fled in terror, and a third (McIntosh) may have, had he been faced with the same threat. A month later, the Red River Campaign began, and no follow-up of this act of terror was investigated or hardly mentioned in the press. In fact, even today the Oklahoma Historical Society doesn't recognize that the Battle of Middle Boggy (which occurred a day or two before Cochran's was destroyed) was really a continuation of this campaign of terror, ultimately leading to the obliteration of an entire community (Cochrans), so destroyed that even the few local survivors could not describe it. Thanks to decendant Danny Knight and others, a clearer view of Phillips Campaign of Terror is arising.