Built in 1870 near a major trade route's crossing of the Cimarron River, it was later used for a variety of civilian purposes, including a post office.

[3] In order to protect traffic on the Fort Supply/Fort Dodge trail, U.S. Army soldiers built two redoubts north and south of the Cimarron River.

[7] Built by soldiers under the command of Captain John Page,[6] the redoubt was constructed in the shape of a square, sixty feet on each side.

[4]: 2  According to an account by Frances Roe, a later commander's wife who was stationed there in January 1873,[4]: 3  it was laid out with many aspects of larger fortifications, such as bastions, ditches, and a ten-foot-tall parapet.

Inside, the fortification included log-reinforced rooms for the garrison that, under Roe's supervision, were capable of becoming "clean and cheerful" for a military wife.