The Doan Family Trading Empire: A Chronological Reconstruction of the True Pioneers (V2)

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Executive Summary

For decades, the standard histories of Wilbarger County, Texas, and the surrounding regions have credited Corwin F. (C.F.) Doan as the central patriarch and founder of the historic Doan's Crossing trading post on the Red River. However, primary source documentation—including contemporary newspaper accounts, military survey maps, and family obituaries—reveals a deliberate distortion of the historical record. Driven by C.F. Doan and his daughter, Bertha Doan Ross (who married a Vernon newspaper editor), the published narrative systematically erased the monumental accomplishments of C.F.'s uncles, Jonathan Doan and Calvin W. Doan, as well as his sister, Phebe Doan Madden.

This updated document establishes the true chronology of the Doan family enterprise using newly refined timelines and geographic context. It proves that Jonathan and Calvin W. Doan were veteran wilderness traders who established at least six distinct stores and trading posts along major cattle and military trails across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas long before C.F. Doan arrived in the region. Conversely, the only independent commercial venture launched by C.F. Doan—a solo grocery store in Vernon—resulted in insolvency and legal debt battles.

Chronological History of Operations (1865–1883)

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1865–1867: Post-Civil War Reassembly at Coffeyville

Having initially left Ohio in 1849 to trade in Kansas Territory, brothers Jonathan Doan (b. May 20, 1837; d. Nov 6, 1902) and Calvin W. Doan (b. 1830; d. Aug 12, 1913) returned to Ohio to serve the Union during the Civil War. Following the cessation of hostilities in 1865, the brothers reunited at Coffeyville, Kansas. Utilizing their pre-war expertise in Native American trade, they re-established their merchant operations and prepared to follow the newly emerging trail networks extending southward into Indian Territory and Texas.

1868: Store 1 – The Original Chisholm Trail / Red River Crossing

As the cattle driving industry surged, Calvin and Jonathan moved south from Kansas along the Chisholm Trail, establishing a trading post at the southern terminus where the trail encountered the Red River on the Texas side.

●       Geographic Trajectory: Primary documentation shows the trail passed through Kingfisher to the town of Yukon, extending directly south to the Red River crossing at Doan's Store in Texas. Jonathan and Calvin brought their herds and freight south along this path, passing directly by Jesse's store.

●       Archival Verification: A retrospective account published in the Oklahoma Weekly Leader (October 23, 1913) quotes a Mr. Blair describing this route, explicitly noting it ran "south to Red river, crossing it at Doane's store."

●       Historical Significance: Blair notes that the trail did not divert to Fort Reno because that post was not established until 1874, while "The Chisholm trail was started in 1868." Backed by their extensive pre-war trading experience with Native Americans, the brothers successfully established this post at the trail's end. At some point after this operation stabilized, Jonathan left Calvin to manage the crossing and pushed to Fort Sill to open their next post.

1870–1874: Store 2 – Cache Creek Trading Post (Fort Sill)

Around 1870, Jonathan Doan opened a trading post on Cache Creek, located approximately two miles from the Fort Sill military post in Indian Territory. The store operated as a trading hub, buying hides and trafficking goods. Jonathan encouraged his family in Ohio to come west.

Jonathan's niece (and C.F.'s sister), Phebe Elizabeth Doan (b. April 24, 1851), married Thomas Elwood Madden in Ohio on October 17, 1872. The couple moved to Fort Sill and took over the day-to-day operations of the trading post from Jonathan. Phebe gave birth to a son, Leon Doan Madden, at Fort Sill on October 12, 1873.

●       The True C.F. Doan Timeline: C.F. Doan was not a pioneer builder here; he was advertising his own grocery business in Wilmington, Ohio, from 1870 through March 19, 1874. He left Wilmington with R.E. Doan to visit Fort Sill on Wednesday, March 25, 1874, arriving shortly after. Phebe briefly returned to Ohio for a few weeks before traveling back to the Fort Sill Agency on June 9, 1874 (as recorded in the Clinton Republican on June 18, 1874).

●       Tragedy and Heavy Realities: Phebe passed away at Fort Sill on September 22, 1874. C.F. Doan took her body back to Clinton County, Ohio, for burial around October 15, 1874. Her husband, Thomas Elwood Madden (whose subsequent history remains entirely undocumented), remained at Fort Sill with their infant son. The child passed away a short time later on October 4, 1875. C.F. Doan returned to Fort Sill a second time to retrieve the baby's body so he could be buried alongside Phebe (buried in Sec 1, Lot 131, Wilmington, Ohio). This reveals a profound historical irony: C.F. Doan’s early memories of Fort Sill were not of pioneer merchant leadership, but of two somber journeys made solely to recover the remains of his deceased sister and nephew.

1871–1875: Store 3 – Confluence of the Pease and Red Rivers (Camp Augur)

A third trading outpost was established north of the Red River where the Pease River merges, operating near Camp Augur. This store was positioned to capture traffic moving along early regional routes before the main trail completely shifted west toward Doan's Crossing due to the pressure of the Indian Wars.

●       Archival Verification: This store is explicitly identified as "Doane's Store" on the historical military map compiled in 1927 by Ed Dorchester, titled "Trails Made and Routes Used by the Fourth US Cavalry under the command of General R.S. Mackenzie." The map, compiled from military surveys spanning 1871 to 1875, places the store on what was the Van Dorn Trail (originally mapped by J.W. Williams, 1858–1859).

●       True Ownership: During this entire timeframe, C.F. Doan was in Ohio and did not reach Wilbarger County until 1878. Jonathan Doan was stationed farther west, just east of the Panhandle, until 1874. Consequently, Calvin Doan is the undisputed creator of this third trail store.

1873–1875: Store 4 – Buck Creek Buffalo Hunter Trading Post (Chalk Cliffs)

In the early 1870s, Jonathan Doan pushed into the Texas Panhandle to establish a buffalo hunter trading post. The store was located near the chalk cliffs of Buck Creek, situated one mile north of present-day Memphis, Texas, between Adobe Walls and Childress.

●       The Western Trail Shift: This post operated along an early Panhandle cattle trail that connected to the Western Cattle Trail network. In 1875, as buffalo populations dwindled and trail patterns shifted, Jonathan moved this mercantile infrastructure down to Doan's Crossing on the Red River.

●       Archival Verification: The Amarillo Globe-Times (September 5, 1947), in the obituary for Jonathan’s daughter Emma Doan Wheatley, explicitly confirms that Jonathan, his brother Calvin, and their niece Phebe Doan Madden launched this Panhandle venture in 1873 before transferring operations to the Red River in 1875.

1871–1876: Store 5 – South of Grandfield / Red River (The Early Great Western Trail)

Operating simultaneously with the other regional posts, Calvin Doan managed a storefront located on the south side of the Red River, positioned north of Wichita Falls and approximately five miles south of present-day Grandfield.

●       Trail Blazing Context: Pioneer drover N.J. McElroy recalled crossing the Red River at this Doans Store location as early as 1871. In 1874, Captain John T. Lytle crossed at this exact spot, traveling west of north across Tillman County with a destination of Dodge City, Kansas. Following the 1876 closure of the Chisholm Trail in Kansas to northbound herds, cattlemen were forced to seek routes farther west.

●       True Ownership: This crossing store passed by Captain Lytle effectively marked the creation of the Great Western Cattle Trail. The historic Waggoner Ranch opened its headquarters at China Creek in 1870, located just west of this store. Because C.F. Doan was still in Ohio until 1878 and Jonathan Doan was opening the permanent north Wilbarger store in 1874, Calvin Doan is the historical figure responsible for this crucial crossing post.

1874–1878: Store 6 – Doan's Crossing, Wilbarger County

This permanent and famous epicenter of the family's trail trade was established by Jonathan Doan between 1874 and 1875 along the Western Cattle Trail. As the settlement grew, Jonathan assumed the civic duties of a County Judge.

●       Corrected C.F. Doan Settlement Timeline: C.F. Doan remained in Ohio through the late 1870s, where his wife Lide gave birth to their daughter, Bertha Doan (later Bertha Ross), in August 1877. C.F. finally sold his Ohio grocery business in early 1878. On September 25, 1878, C.F., his wife, and their three children (including their daughter Mabel) departed Sherman, Texas, in wagons driven by freighters. They arrived at the Red River location on October 10, 1878—years after Jonathan had established it. C.F. stepped in to manage daily operations and established the local Post Office, a role he and his daughter later used to claim total credit for founding the site. This was the 6th store opened by the family, built entirely on the foundational work of Jonathan and Calvin.

1880s: Store 7 – C.F. Doan & Co., Vernon (The Solo Venture)

In the early 1880s, the Doan family had two distinct operations running simultaneously: the historic trail store at Doan's Crossing (under Jonathan's foundational oversight) and a new, urban retail venture located on the 1800 block of Wilbarger Street in the town of Vernon, Texas. This Vernon store was the first and only enterprise independently conceived, owned, and operated solely by Corwin F. Doan, which he named "C.F. Doan & Co." (mimicking the name of his old 1871–1874 Ohio grocery business).

●       Commercial Failure: Lacking the strategic trail placement of his uncles' stores, C.F. Doan mismanaged the Vernon operation by unsustainably extending credit rather than conducting cash-only business.

●       Insolvency and Litigation: By 1883, C.F. Doan & Co. collapsed into total financial failure and was forced to close. C.F. Doan defaulted on massive wholesale debts, resulting in a series of bitter lawsuits brought against him by creditors seeking recovery of funds. This business failure was systematically erased from the pioneer profiles later curated by his daughter Bertha.

Comparative Matrix: Real Trailblazers vs. The Fabricated History

Store Identity	Chronological Era	Documented True Founders	Associated Trail / Geography	C.F. Doan's Documented Location & Timeline
Store 1	1868–1870	Calvin W. Doan Jonathan Doan	Original Chisholm Trail / Red River crossing passing Jesse's store down to Texas.	Operating and advertising a retail grocery business in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio.
Store 2	1870–1874	Jonathan Doan Phebe Doan Madden	Cache Creek / Fort Sill Agency, Indian Territory	In Ohio; made brief trips to Fort Sill in Oct 1874 and Oct 1875 solely to retrieve the remains of his sister and nephew.
Store 3	1871–1875	Calvin W. Doan	Van Dorn Trail / Camp Augur (Pease River confluence)	Residing and business-advertising in Wilmington, Ohio. Absent from Texas.
Store 4	1873–1875	Jonathan Doan Calvin W. Doan Phebe Doan Madden	Buck Creek Buffalo Trail / Chalk Cliffs (Memphis, TX, between Adobe Walls and Childress)	Residing in Wilmington, Ohio. Spent this era in the Midwest before his short funeral trips.
Store 5	1871–1876	Calvin W. Doan	Early Great Western Trail / South of Grandfield, north of Wichita Falls (East of Waggoner HQ).	Residing in Ohio; sold his Ohio grocery store in early 1878. Delayed entering the region.
Store 6	1874–1878+	Jonathan Doan	Great Western Cattle Trail / Doan's Crossing, Wilbarger Co.	Bertha born in Ohio (Aug 1877). Left Sherman, TX Sept 25, 1878; arrived at the pre-existing store on Oct 10, 1878 as postmaster.
Store 7	1880s–1883	Corwin F. Doan (Solo Venture)	1800 Block of Wilbarger Street, Vernon, TX	Present. Personally managed the branch into bankruptcy, resulting in multiple debt lawsuits.

Conclusion

The primary source evidence effectively dismantles the C.F. Doan "monopoly" on Wilbarger County history. Jonathan and Calvin W. Doan were the true economic architects of the regional trail trade, successfully operating five complex wilderness stores before C.F. Doan permanently settled in Texas. Historical preservation groups, including the Wichita County and Wilbarger County Historical Societies, should recognize Calvin and Jonathan Doan as the authentic mercantile pioneers of the Red River frontier, while correcting the historical omission of the family's true female trail-blazer, Phebe Doan Madden.

This was provided by Dave Clark: im4justice@aol.com

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