Fort Sill Building & Spencer Carbine Display (from 2 Hatchet)

[Two Flints]

Hello Two Flints,
  I just got back from a trip to Ft. Sill Ok. and I was able to take some photos that i wanted to post along with my comments that I made earlier under the topic Ft. Riley Spencer's by Pinkerton Agent. (From the earlier post)>>>Just saw this and thought I'd see if I could add a little to the info!  While visiting with the curator of the Ft. Sill Ok. Museum awhile back I asked about the Spencers in some of the various displays. He is a friend of mine and my family so I get to sometimes look behind the scenes at some of the great stuff they have at the museum. The Spencers in most of the displays are fake!!! The curator told me that the museum had a mold made of an original Spencer carbine. The mold was sent to a model making shop on post and was used to make the non-firing solid plastic display models. They look pretty real and I was interseted in trying to find out if it would be possible to purchase or have one made. I was told that the shop on post that made the original models had been closed and the molds were destoyed or lost.
I will be going to Lawton in a week so I'll drop by the Old post and take some pictures of the racks of Spencers in the old guard house and I'll see about the ones in the restored barracks. last time I was on the post in April the barracks was closed.  Yes Ft. Sill is where Geronimo's grave is!!!  I've heard that his head may not still be with the remains though!!!!!  Some story that a group at a eastern college use it in there secret ceremonies!!!!!! <<<

(This begins the new Thread/Post)

I thought that since I had such trouble with posting some other photos I would just send them to you in an email and see if you would post them. I will also include a little info on the photos.  All four photos are of the Old Ft Sill Guardhouse. The first photo is of the Old Guardhouse, The second photo is Just outside of the Guard Quarters, the next photo is just inside of the guard quarters w/rack of Spencer carbines visible lower left side of photo, The last photo is of the rack of Spencers. These are all models made of plastic resin and then painted.

Here are the first four photos and I will send the next four shortly in another email. Thanks for your help in posting these photos and let me know if there is something I could do to make it easier for you. 









Here is the second group of photos I took at Ft.Sill Ok. These photos are of the restored 1870's style Barracks. The are several racks of the plastic resin model Spencers visible in the photos. This restored barracks is not yet open to the public but I was able to get a short tour of the barracks so I could get the photos and post them for the members of SSS.

The first photo is a view of the interior of the restored barracks. the second photo is of another veiw of the barracks with a better look at the rack of Spencer models. the next photo is of the rack of Spencers  with a stove nearby. the last photo is of a rack of the imitation Spencers. Some have not been had the paint applied so they are still the black color resin.  Thats all the photos and I hope it's not too much trouble to get them to the correct size to post.









Thanks again  2 Hatchet

[Will Ketchum]

Very nice pictures.  I bet the barracks didn't look quite that nice in the old days

You sure wonder why, after going to all the trouble and expense of making the molds they would destroy them?

I have my suspicions that many guns in museum displays are fakes.  I understand why.  Real guns don't really add to the overall impression and there is the chance of them being taken.  I use to be a guard at our Wisconsin State Historical Society museum when I was in college.  We had to constantly check the screws which held the glass in the displays because thieves would remove the screws over several days and then steal the guns.  They lost a saber and an 1860 Colt just before I started.  Several times I found missing screws.  Now days I am sure they just use cameras but we didn't have them in 1970.



Will Ketchum