Quanah Parker: One Man, Two Worlds

Southlake Historical Society

Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main St., 817-748-8400, southlakehistory.org

More than 40 seldom-seen photos related to the story of Texas pioneer Cynthia Ann Parker and Quanah Parker, a son from her marriage to Comanche chief Peta Nocona, are on exhibit. Captured in 1836 during a Comanche raid on Fort Parker, the then 9-year-old girl was renamed Naudah. She lived with the tribe for 24 years before the Texas Rangers forced her to leave her two sons behind and reunite with the Parker family. Her infant daughter, Prairie Flower, remained with her, but Cynthia Ann never knew that her son Quanah became known as the last great Comanche chief. Local history note: Quanah Parker almost died of asphyxiation on his first visit to Fort Worth, in 1885, when he failed to properly extinguish his hotel room’s gas lamp. Through Aug. 20