Ruins of Camp Colorado

The Rangers tied to this ground in 1874 were Captain Jeff Maltby's. William Jeff Maltby was an Illinois-born army teamster, wagonmaster and scout who helped build Forts Belknap, Clark and Concho. In May 1874 he took command of Company E of the new Frontier Battalion and served until December. In 1906 he published a memoir, Captain Jeff. Historian Rupert Richardson, introducing a 1965 edition, called it valuable for its view of frontier life but warned that it may be exaggerated and sometimes inaccurate. The ruins stand on private property, and no route is given here.

What the plaque says

Ruins of Camp Colorado Originally established on the Colorado River by the United States Army as a protection for the frontier against hostile Indians; moved in August, 1856, to this site; abandoned by Federal troops February 26, 1861. The site became the property in 1870 of Henry Sackett (1851-1928), who built his home here in 1879. From here he, with Maltby's Rangers, in 1874, pursued the bands of Big Foot and Jape, Comanche chiefs, and defeated them.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 14 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• Fairview Cemetery — 5.1 mi
• Mud Creek Cemetery — 6.1 mi
• Thrifty — 9.3 mi
• Colonel James E. McCord — 9.8 mi