Fort Worth Heritage Trails - Cynthia Ann Parker and Native Americans of North Texas - Fort Worth, TX
N 32° 45.122 W 097° 19.766
14S E 656501 N 3625032
A Fort Worth Heritage Trails sign stands at the northeast corner of Main and E 8th Streets, providing a narrative about Native Americans in North Texas, including the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, a famed Comanche captive who literally went native.
Waymark Code: WM12R1V
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/05/2020
Views: 3
You're standing in front of the Hilton Fort Worth, which, when it was still the Hotel Texas, was where John F. Kennedy spent his last night on November 21, 1963, before heading to Dallas the next day. This sign has an inset photo of Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter, and it reads:
Native Americans hunted bison on the plains of North Texas in the 1800s. They traded freely with settlers, but conflicts did occur. Some tribal villages were attacked and some settlers' homesteads were raided and captives taken.
In January 1861, this photo of captive Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter Topsannah was taken in Fort Worth. In 1836 Cynthia Ann, age 9, and others had been taken from their family compound at Fort Parker by Comanche. She then lived her life as a Comanche. Comanche leader Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann had three children. In 1860 she and her daughter were captured by Texas Rangers and returned to the Parker family who lived in Tarrant County. Topsannah died in 1863. Parker's life until she died in 1870 was spent in sadness, lonely for her life as a Comanche. Her son, Quannah [sic], became a great leader of the Comanche as a warrior and a statesman and frequently visited Fort Worth.
Heritage Trails 2006
Sponsored by City of Fort Worth
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On an 1885 visit to Fort Worth, Quanah Parker nearly fell victim to a gas leak that took the life of his father-in-law, Yellow Bear, as they slept at the Pickwick Hotel, which was just north of here at Main and Fourth Streets.
Group that erected the marker: Fort Worth Heritage Trails/City of Fort Worth
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Main and E 8th St Fort Worth, TX USA 76102
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