Established in May, 1824, under the command of Col. Matthew Arbuckle, Fort Towson guarded this region of the Spanish border. It later served as the headquarters of Gen. S.B. Maxey, U.S. Army, and was abandoned at the end of the Civil War. In the vicinity, Doaksville was an important trading center and at one time the capital of the Choctaw Nation. George Hudson was Principal Chief in 1860, and noted Choctaws included David Folsom and Robert M. Jones.