It's not a surprise that Jacksboro Highway offers the quickest route to Fort Richardson. You can reach this shortcut on Loop 820, or you can just follow Henderson Street northwest out of downtown. Ghosts of gamblers and gangsters haunt the sites of old roadhouses and casinos that relocated from Hell's Half Acre to better serve up whoopee to the ranch hands and roughnecks on the western range.
Azle to Springtown
The next leg west, dubbed Slipdown Mountain, sports quite a few massacre sites, proving the validity of the mountain's name, derived because of its popularity with raiding warriors from across the Red River as an entry point into the Parker County settlements. A little further west, Jacksboro offered the raiders another popular entry into the settlements. Most notably Nocona's vicious 1860 raid, which began with the murder of the Landman Family.
Below you'll find a selection of excellent stories relevant to the Slipdown Mountain road trip.