Military Forts in the Texas (TX) Hill Country - Topic Profile By Cofran's Texas Hill Country Portal

HILL COUNTRY HISTORIC MILITARY FORTS

In the early days of settling what was to become the Texas Hill Country, military forts were established to protect the pioneers from the Indians. Several of these forts remain as treasures for us to explore and interpret in understanding the hardships of frontier life.

Fort Mason and Fort McKavett are included in the Texas Forts Trail: www.texasfortstrail.com

FORT CROGHAN: 512-756-8281; at 703 Buchanan Drive (Hwy 29W), Burnet, TX 78611; www.fortcroghan.org. info@fortcroghan.org. Established in 1849, Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the US government to protect settlements from hostile Indians. From 1849 until its decommission in 1853, Fort Croghan was the home to Company C, 8th Inf, USA. (mounted) and eventually became the headquarters of the Second Dragoon Regiment. Today's Fort Croghan is representative of those early days of what was to become Burnet. See the sights and imagine the sounds of the frontier as you visit the blacksmith's shop, the one room school house, the powder house or the stage coach stop. The museum has over 1200 historic artifacts from in and around the Burnet County area. Visit the Texas frontier as it once was. Admission is free. Donations accepted. Open April through August, Thur-Sat, 10a-5p. Group tours, call for reservation. Map

FORT MARTIN SCOTT: 830-997-9895. Located 2 mi SE of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290. On display are artifacts, documents, and fascinating details about trade in bear grease, sugar, rice, and coffee. Showcases many historical events during the year, but the favorite is the Pow Wow which has a virtual kaleidoscope of brilliant colors and native regalia. The first frontier fort in Texas, and was an active U.S. Army pre-Civil War outpost from 1848 to 1853. Soldiers were trained here, and it supported troops on scouting and patrol missions in the area. Managed by Gillespie County Historical Society. www.geocities.com/dwastwood/fort_martin_scott.html.

FORT MASON: 325-347-5758; 204 West Spruce Street, Mason, TX 76856. Established in 1851 as part of a line of army forts from the Rio Grande to the Red River to open new areas and provide protection for settlers. A training ground for generals. Web.

FT. MCKAVETT STATE HISTORICAL SITE: 325-396-2358; On 7066 FM 864, Ft McKavett, TX 76841. An 82 acre park facility 22 mi SW of Menard on W edge of Menard County, governed by the State Historical Commission. Open daily to the public, 8a-5p. Established in 1852. General William T. Sherman called Fort McKavett "the prettiest post in Texas.", 1874. Part of a chain of military posts designed to control the native population and protect immigrants and settlers traveling the road between San Antonio and El Paso. Today it is one of the best preserved and most intact examples of a Texas Indian wars frontier post. Overlooks San Saba river. Web. Included in the Texas Forts Trail: Web; www.visitfortmckavett.com

SAN SABA PRESIDIO: These ruins of a Spanish fort built in 1751 to protect the nearby mission are located 2 mi NW of downtown Menard on the San Saba River banks, off Hwy 190, now maintained as a county park. Also known as: "Presidio San Saba"; "Presidio de San Luis de las Amarillas". Open year-round, self-guided tour with exhibit sign. History, More History, Photos

FACTOID: An unsuccessful Spanish mission, San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz, was established by Franciscans in Camp Wood in 1762, and in 1857 a U.S. Army post was founded, from which the present-day active community took its name. See history and photos in more detail about the US Calvary and the Texas Rangers at the Camp Wood Texas Sesquicentennial Minute: History & Audio

HISTORIC FORTS VERY NEAR THE HILL COUNTRY

CAMP SABINAL: 1 mi W of Sabinal, Hwy 90, S of Utopia. Handbook of Texas Profile: " . on the west bank of the Sabinal River . . was established by Capt. Albert G. Brackett on July 12, 1856, to provide protection for commercial traffic and travelers from San Antonio to El Paso. Among the people to settle nearby were John Kenedy, who built a store near the camp, Louis Peter, and Peter Rheiner, future father-in-law of Vice President John Nance Garner. Remnants of structures built by these settlers were still in evidence when the Texas Centennial Commission placed a marker at the site in 1936. By the summer of 1856 the Second United States Cavalry, commanded by Col. Albert S. Johnston and stationed at Fort Mason, was the lone mounted unit left in Texas. Johnston distributed the six companies under his command to different outposts along the Texas frontier; Company I was assigned to Camp Sabinal. The fort was occupied by United States troops until November 1856, and later served as a Texas Ranger camp. The Second Cavalry and Company I were under the command of Robert E. Lee for three months in late 1857 and again near the end of 1860."

FORT CLARK: Uvalde

FORT INGE: Uvalde

ACTIVE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS VERY NEAR THE HILL COUNTRY

There are no active military installations in the Hill Country, but there are many very nearby.
Some of these include:

ARMY:

Fort Hood (Killeen), Largest US military installation, Profile

Camp Bullis (San Antonio), Profile

AIR FORCE:

Brooks City-Base (San Antonio); formerly a military post, now locally owned and operated. Profile

Lackland AFB (San Antonio), Profile

Randolf AFB (San Antonio), Profile

TEXAS MILITARY FORCES:

Camp Mabry (Austin); US National Registry of Historic Places, Profile