In 1875, a large two-room pole building furnished with staple groceries and ammunition became the first trading post in Texas above the Canadian River. Located in Indian-infested country, the stockade was named for the fierce Zulu tribe of Africa. It began as a buffalo camp where crack hunters Jim and Bob Cator from England made the first permanent Panhandle residence at Christmas, 1873. In 1876, Zulu became a major depot on the Fort Dodge-Fort Bascom military road and eventually received a post office contract. It was finally abandoned in 1912.