Site of the November 29, 1864 massacre of a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment by Colorado militia — now a National Historic Site held sacred by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
County Road W, Eads, CO 81036
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free NPS site
Access
Wheelchair OK
High Plains grassland; flat terrain; unpaved access road to site
Equipment
Photos OK
Site of November 29, 1864 Massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho Encampment · Approximately 150–200 Killed, Majority Women Children and Elderly · Three Congressional Investigations Condemned the Attack · Sacred Site Held by Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma · Designated National Historic Site 2000 · Co-Managed by NPS and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
The Sand Creek Massacre took place on the morning of November 29, 1864, on the banks of Big Sandy Creek (Sand Creek) in what is now Kiowa County, Colorado. The encampment attacked that day was a winter camp of approximately 500 to 600 Cheyenne and Arapaho people who had been directed by United States officials to camp at Sand Creek, which they were told would be a place of safety under government protection. Chief Black Kettle, the principal Cheyenne leader, had worked for accommodation with the United States government and understood the camp to be operating under military assurance.
Colonel John M. Chivington commanded the 3rd Colorado Cavalry — a unit recruited specifically as a 100-day militia — along with the 1st Colorado Cavalry. Chivington was a Methodist minister and Union military officer who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862. His motives and the orders he received were later contested in multiple investigations, but his actions at Sand Creek were his own decision.
The attack came at dawn, surprising the sleeping camp. Black Kettle raised a United States flag and a white flag on a pole at his lodge when he heard the attack beginning. The flags did not stop the assault. What followed was a massacre rather than a battle: soldiers killed and mutilated men, women, and children. Estimates of the dead range from 150 to over 200, with most sources accepting approximately 150 to 200 as the range. Survivors who escaped fled across the frozen plains.
Three separate U.S. government investigations — a Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, a military inquiry, and a Senate committee — each condemned Chivington's actions. The Congressional report used the word 'massacre' and documented the mutilation of the dead. Chivington escaped court-martial only because he had mustered out of the army before charges could be filed. He never faced legal accountability.
The Sand Creek Massacre deepened conflicts on the southern plains and helped fuel the continuation of the Indian Wars. For the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples, the site remains sacred ground and a wound that did not heal with political acknowledgment.
Congress established the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in 2000. The site is co-managed by the National Park Service and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
Sources
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is not a paranormal tourism destination. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, who co-manage the site with the National Park Service, have been clear that the grounds are sacred and should be approached with the respect owed to a place of immense loss.
Some visitors and nearby residents have, over the years, described experiences at the site — accounts of wandering figures, sounds — that they attribute to the events of November 29, 1864. The NPS and tribal leadership do not promote or endorse these accounts as part of the site's interpretive program. This entry presents them only in the context of acknowledging that visitors sometimes report such experiences, not as an invitation to pursue them.
The site's weight comes from the documented historical record: the dawn attack on a camp flying U.S. and white flags, the deaths of an estimated 150 to 200 people, the Congressional investigations that used the word 'massacre,' and the generations of Cheyenne and Arapaho people who carry Sand Creek in their tribal memory. That record is the reason to visit, and it is more than sufficient.
Visitors who come to Sand Creek are asked to leave the site as they found it, to refrain from collecting objects, and to observe silence at the commemorative markers.
Notable Entities
The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site preserves the High Plains landscape where the November 29, 1864 massacre occurred. The site is marked with interpretive materials and maintained as sacred ground by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, who co-manage the site with the National Park Service. Visitors are asked to approach the site with respect and quiet reflection.
From April through November, NPS rangers and tribal cultural liaisons offer interpretive programs at the site that provide historical context, tribal perspectives on the massacre and its aftermath, and guidance on respectful visitation. Check the NPS website for current schedule.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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