Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pictorial History

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Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pictorial History opens at the Museum of the Americas March 15, 2014.  The public is invited to the opening preview Saturday March 15th, from 7:00-9:00 p.m.  Doug Harman, former President of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and noted speaker, will give an overview on the exhibit.

Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pictorial HistoryQuanah and Cynthia Ann Parker figure large in the history of Texas.  Quanah Parker (ca. 1845—Feb. 23, 1911) was recognized as the last of the Comanche chiefs.   He was half Comanche, half Anglo, and the son of Comanche chief Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker.  As a warrior he led the attack on Adobe Walls in the Panhandle against the buffalo hunters on June 27, 1874.  With the buffalo exterminated and suffering heavy losses, he led his Quahada band to surrender to Col. MacKenzie at Fort Sill, Ok, in 1875.  The U.S. government appointed Quanah principal chief of the entire Comanche nation once they had gathered on the reservation.  In later years he became a wealthy rancher and remained influential in both worlds.

Cynthia Ann Parker (ca. 1817—1870) was a member of the Parker frontier family that settled in east Texas in the 1830’s.  She was captured in 1836 (at age nine) by the Comanche and assimilated into the tribe where she lived for 24 years.  She became the wife of Peta Nocona and bore him three children.  In 1860 she and her daughter  Prairie Flower were captured in the battle of Pease River and returned to her white family.  She was never allowed to return to her husband and adopted people and mourned until her death in 1870. 

Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pictorial History is a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Texas Lakes Trail, and the Texas Historical Commission.  Doug Harman and Clara Ruddell helped assemble the exhibit.  The exhibit will run from March 15 - July 31st, 2014.  Museum of the Americas is located at 216 Fort Worth Hwy., Weatherford, TX.  Hours are 10-5, Mon.-Fri. and 11-4, Sat.