had been established near the Darlington Agency in 1874, at the insistence of Agent John Miles to pacify the Arapahos and Cheyennes who had already settled there. At first, Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry were dispatched from Fort Sill to establish an installation tentatively called “Camp Near the Cheyenne Agency,” but these were diverted to the Wichita Agency, south of Darlington because of Indian unrest in that area. Instead, troops of the 5th Infantry and 6th Cavalry from Forts Dodge and Leavenworth under Lt. Col. Thomas Neil were given the job at Darlington. Neil was authorized to select a site on the south side of the North Canadian River, build corrals and a wagon yard, dig wells, and set up a sawmill for the military post. In February, 1876, General Phil Sheridan named the new facility Fort Reno. In December, 1876, the chief clerk of the Office of Indian Affairs. S. A. Galpin, inspected the Darlington Agency. In his report, he gave a largely favorable review. He seemed especially impressed by the Indian school, writing that it was "... the largest, and in many respects the best, Indian school that I have found." At the time, John H. Seger was running the school for the second straight year, and had an enrollment of 115 scholars. Galpin noted that the school was in excellent condition, and that "... the furniture of which is as yet without a scratch made wantonly..." In 1877, Dull Knife and 900 other Cheyennes were escorted to Darlington to be interned. The following year, most of this group escaped en masse and fled toward their northern homeland. Troops from Fort Reno and other posts pursued and captured most of the escapees and returned them to Darlington. Troops from the fort also removed Boomers and ranchers who illegally trespassed or grazed cattle on reservation property. In 1889, the troops fought Sooners trying to sneak into Oklahoma before the land run officially opened. Fort Reno was declared a remount station in 1908. Its primary aim was to supply animals to other military units. In 1938, cavalry units were already being mechanized and horses were no longer needed; the fort became a quartermaster depot. During World War II, Fort Reno became a camp for captured German soldiers. In 1949, the U.S. Department of Agriculture acquired the facility as a livestock research station. It has since been renamed as the Darlington State Game Farm.
