Built as a frontier fort in 1824, Fort Gibson came to play an integral – and notorious – role in the Trail of Tears. It was home to the removal commission in the 1830s and is where surviving Creek and Seminole people were brought after the forced march. From here they were dispatched around the Indian Territory. You can get a good sense of military life 180 years ago at the restored grounds and buildings. It's seven miles northeast of the center of Muskogee.
Washington Irving wrote his landmark A Tour of the Prairies in 1835 based on trips he took with Fort Gibson troops in 1832 and 1833 looking for local bands of Native Americans. The main part of the historic site is at the corner of Lee St and E Ash Ave.