Active Army Post and Apache Prisoner-of-War Burial Grounds
437 Quanah Rd, Lawton, OK 73503
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No admission charge for the cemeteries. Civilian visitors must obtain a visitor pass at Fort Sill's Sheridan Gate visitor control center; valid civilian photo ID required for everyone in the vehicle age 18+ (and 16-17 if driving).
Access
Wheelchair OK
Level dirt and gravel cemetery paths within an active military post.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1869 · U.S. Army Indian Wars Garrison · Apache Prisoner-of-War Cemetery · Geronimo Burial Site · Active U.S. Army Post
Fort Sill was established in 1869 by Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan during the U.S. Army's southern plains campaigns. It became one of the most consequential garrisons in the American Indian Wars and remains an active Army post today, currently home to the U.S. Army Field Artillery School.
In 1894, after eight years of imprisonment in Florida and Alabama, the Chiricahua Apache prisoners of war led by Naiche and Geronimo were transferred to Fort Sill. Geronimo had surrendered to Gen. Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona on September 4, 1886. He spent the rest of his life as a prisoner at Fort Sill, where he sold photographs and crafts to visitors and became a public figure who appeared at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.
Geronimo died on February 17, 1909 of pneumonia after he was thrown from his horse and lay overnight in cold rain. He was buried in the Apache Prisoner-of-War Cemetery at Fort Sill, beneath a five-foot pyramid of local cobblestones topped with a stone eagle. The cemetery had been established in 1894 to hold the Apache prisoners and their family members who died during their imprisonment. The Beef Creek Apache Cemetery and the adjacent Old Post Cemetery hold the remains of chiefs, warriors, scouts, and families. The cemeteries are accessible to the public during daytime hours, subject to current installation access procedures.
Sources
Fort Sill is woven into Plains paranormal folklore largely because of its place in nineteenth-century Indigenous history and the Apache prisoner-of-war population that lived and died on its grounds. The Apache Prisoner-of-War Cemeteries, including Geronimo's grave, are the focal point of most contemporary visitor accounts; soldiers and visitors have long described the cemeteries as quiet and atmospheric, particularly in early morning and at dusk.
The Shadowlands index entry referenced a generalized account of 'Native American spirits' and unusual noises associated with the post. Specific named witnesses, dated incidents, or institutional documentation of paranormal activity at Fort Sill were not located in published sources. Visitors interested in the site should approach it primarily as a documented historic cemetery and active military installation rather than as a programmed paranormal destination.
The most lasting cultural narrative tied to Fort Sill is Geronimo's repeated wish to return to the Arizona lands of his birth, a wish never granted. He remains buried beneath the cobblestone pyramid in the Apache cemetery on post.
Notable Entities
Walk the Apache Prisoner-of-War Cemeteries on the grounds of Fort Sill, where Geronimo is buried beneath a five-foot pyramid of local cobblestones topped with a stone eagle. The Beef Creek Apache Cemetery and adjacent burial grounds hold the remains of chiefs, warriors, scouts, and family members who died as prisoners of war between 1894 and the early twentieth century.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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