Quanah Parker Trail
Texas Plains Trail Region
1860 C. Quanah & Buckskin Charlie met near Dalhart to make a peace treaty between Comanches & Southern Utes.
Arrow sculptor: Charles A. Smith
Erected 2013. (Marker Number 24.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Peace. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.
Location. 36° 3.527′ N, 102° 31.491′ W. Marker is in Dalhart, Texas, in Dallam County. It is on Rock Island Avenue just north of West 8th Street, on the left when traveling north. The marker and arrow are located near the center of Veterans Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 215 West 8th Street, Dalhart TX 79022, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Texas Panhandle. It is also on the American Great Plains, specifically on the Southern Plains, and specifically on the High Plains. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Comancherνa, the Dust Bowl, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dalhart Army Air Field (within shouting distance of this marker); Dallam/Hartley Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); St. James Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); 305th Airdrome Squadron Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dallam County Courthouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); Texas Sesquicentennial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dallam County (approx. Ό mile away); James R. Fox, Jr. (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dalhart.
Also see . . .
this page online
1. Quanah Parker (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Quanah Parker (c. 1845 February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. Quanah Parker was never elected chief by his people but was appointed by the federal government as principal chief of the entire Comanche Nation. He became a primary emissary of southwest indigenous Americans to the United States legislature. After his death in 1911, the leadership title of Chief was replaced with chairman; Quanah Parker is thereby described as the "Last Chief of the Comanche".(Submitted on July 30, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)The Quanah Parker Trail, a public art project begun in 2010 by the Texas Plains Trail Region, commemorates sites of Comanche history in the Plains and Panhandle of Texas, the central region of Comancheria.
2. Exploring the Quanah Parker Trail (Texas Historical Commission).
Excerpt: Dozens of arrows, 22 feet tall, pierce the landscape of the Panhandle Plains. They commemorate Quanah Parker, last chief of the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ), and the territory called Comancherνa where his people lived. Parker was the son of a Quahada Comanche man and(Submitted on July 31, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)a white woman, a heritage that made a lasting impact on his life.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 20252. Quanah Parker Trail Marker and ArrowLooking south through Veterans Memorial Park. West 8th Street is in the background.For years under Quanah Parkers leadership, in the 1860s and 1870s, the Quahada Comanche held their territory against increasing force. But after unrelenting pressure from the US Army, they were removed to the Kiowa-Comanche reservation in Oklahoma in the mid-1870s.
In 2011, residents living in the former Comancherνa established the Quanah Parker Trail to interpret the Indigenous history of the region in the days before and during colonial settlement. The enormous arrows that mark the trail sites were made by regional sculptor Charles Smith (1942-2018), who lived near Lubbock.
3. Quanah Parker Trail Dallam County, Texas (quanahparkertrail.com).
Excerpt: In the mid-19th century, Dalhart didn't exist. The Comanche held sway on the Texas Plains. The Utes were also powerful sometimes allied with the Comanche and sometimes not. Stories handed down tell of a Ute-Comanche peace treaty almost signed in the 1860s at a site near present-day Dalhart. As tribal leaders were about to smoke the peace pipe and confirm the treaty, a shot rang out, disrupting the process. Warriors on both sides feared an ambush and reacted(Submitted on July 30, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)accordingly. Stories differ as to casualties.Photographed by Allen Lowrey, February 20, 20213. Quanah Parker Trail MarkerUltimately the two tribes revived their talks and signed a treaty in a two-part ceremony held in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1976 and Ignacio, Colorado in 1977. Some accounts say chiefs at the first meeting in Texas were Quanah, Comanche, and Buckskin Charlie, Ute. But back then young Quanah had yet to attain a position of such leadership. Still, he no doubt traveled the Plains and knew the part of Texas that's now Dallam County.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 30, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 229 times since then and 57 times this year. Last updated on August 1, 2025, by Allen Lowrey of Amarillo, Texas. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 30, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 3. submitted on August 1, 2025, by Allen Lowrey of Amarillo, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
