What we know
D. C. Oakes's log stockade, begun in 1860 about 25 yards south of his sawmill and finished by the settlers in three days in August 1864; 25-30 families sheltered there for about three weeks (Olive Oakes, as summarized on a draft panel, Larkspur Historical Society binder 4 p. 378). Used again in 1868.
Where it was
General Land Office field notes, T9S R67W, W. H. Pierce, deputy surveyor, survey completed June 29, 1866, p. 93: running east on the line between Secs. 21 and 16 from the corner of Secs. 20, 21, 16 and 17, '40. Set temporary 1/4 sec cor … 40.05 Road, course N. 20° W. … 40.08 Peoples' Fort 7 lks S of line … 51.50 Saw mill 2 ch N. of line … 52.90 Plum Creek 25 lks wide'; the line ends at 80.20 chains (copy of the handwritten page, Larkspur Historical Society binder 1 p. 120, image read; typed transcription p. 109). That is 40.08 of 80.20 chains along the modern section line; good to about 100 feet if the modern grid keeps the 1866 corners. Agrees with 'about three miles below Larkspur' (1940 pioneer letter, Larkspur Historical Society binder 10 p. 21), 'about half way between Larkspur and Tomah' at the clay pit (Swinney, Larkspur Historical Society binder 10 p. 58), 'three miles' east of Fort Washington (Marr), and Glenn Scott's NE1/4 Sec. 21 (Larkspur Historical Society binder 1 p. 104); Johanna Harden, the county archivist, first pointed to the survey notes (Larkspur Historical Society binder 4 p. 367).
Placed from a written description, such as a land section, a distance from a landmark or an old survey note.
Sources
Sources are named in the text above. Numbers such as S-0080 refer to our source list. Most newspaper quotations were read in the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Long quotations from recent books are shortened here.