A 19th century oasis around a lone cottonwood tree and a good spring, this site drew heavy wagon traffic whose ruts are still visible on the hill to the southwest. In 1849, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy of the U.S. Army camped here with his soldiers while mapping a gold-seekers' road to California. He returned in 1851 as escort for Col. W.F. Belknap on the way to establish Fort Belknap, and again with Maj. Robert S. Neighbors in 1854 while exploring sites for Indian reservations. Maj. Enoch Steen of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons was here in 1855 platting a route to Fort Riley, Kan. The Leach wagon train camped here in 1857 while opening the Butterfield Overland Mail Route along the Preston Road to Red River. In 1858, two expeditions camped here while riding north of Red River to fight Comanche raiders: Capt. John S. Ford with Rangers in April and Maj. Earl van Dorn with U.S. Cavalry in the fall. In August 1859, Maj. Neighbors, escorting Texas Indians to reservations in present Oklahoma, found the spring dry, though water later returned. Cattlemen used the spring for generations until the water table dropped permanently in the mid-20th century and the cottonwood died.