By March 1, 1870, several buildings had been completed, including a commissary and quartermaster storehouse, hospital, five officers’ quarters, a powder magazine and two barracks – all built of sandstone. Construction continued for the entire existence of the fort, and it was deactivated before it was ever actually completed.  In the end, the fort contained at least forty buildings and covered more than 1600 acres.

At its peak, the post supported as many as 500 troops, including such famous frontier units like the 4th and 10th Cavalries. Notable military commanders included men such as Ranald Mackenzie, William 'Pecos Bill' Shafter, and Benjamin Grierson, who commanded several regiments of buffalo soldiers of the 10^th Cavalry.

In addition to protecting settlers, stagecoaches, wagon trains and the United States mail, the troops also participated in several successful campaigns against the Comanche Indians and played an important role in the suppression of illegal profiteering between the Mexican and American traders known as Comancheros.

In September, 1872, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie and his troops, familiarly referred to as "Mackenzie's Raiders," successfully attacked a large Comanche camp, killing 23 warriors. When the battle was over, 127 women and children were marched to Fort Concho where they were imprisoned through the winter in the stone corral. In the spring of 1873, the women and children were then sent to the Indian reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

On September 28, 1874, Mackenzie, led his raiders on another campaign when he attacked and destroyed a large Indian encampment in Palo Duro Canyon. Mackenzie’s troopers formed part of the Red River Campaign of 1874-75, organized to force the Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Comanche to return to the reservations. On September 28th, Mackenzie’s scouts followed the Indian trail to the edge of Palo Duro Canyon, before the soldiers descended the steep slopes to the valley floor 700 feet below. Taken by surprise, the Indians abandoned their villages, allowing Mackenzie to capture more than 1,100 horses that were later slaughtered to prevent recapture. Although few Indians or soldiers were killed, the unrelenting pursuit of the troopers and the cold weather ultimately forced the Indians to surrender, thus bringing to a close the Red River War.