Every Saturday this summer, at 7 pm at the
Davis Mountains State Park amphitheater, join a history program presented by
Fort Davis National Historic Site.
From our Texas Mountain Trail website,
www.texasmountaintrail.com
"
The
frontier post of Fort Davis, established in 1854 and serving the Texas frontier
until 1891, provided a strategic factor in the defense system of the American
Southwest. The Fort’s garrison protected settlers, mail coaches, wagon trains,
and travelers enduring the San Antonio-El Paso road, and, until 1861, soldiers
stayed busy driving Comanche, Kiowa, and Apaches from the region.
The Fort’s
location, at the mouth of a box canyon on the eastern side of the Davis
Mountains, provided a suitable advantage for fending off attacks, mustering
troops, and staging defenses. Abandoned for a period after the Civil War, the
Fort’s primitive structures had little to offer the Ninth U.S. Cavalry who
arrived in 1867 to reoccupy the post.
In two short years, however, permanent
quarters, barracks, a guardhouse, and storehouses were raised and by the end of
the 1880s Fort Davis harbored more than 100 structures and quartered more than
400 soldiers, including the famed Buffalo Soldiers.
Today, the Fort and
surrounding grounds comprise the Fort Davis National Historic Site, considered
one of the country’s best surviving examples of a frontier military post in the
Southwest. Twenty-four roofed buildings remain, along with over 100 ruins and
foundations. Five of the historic buildings have been restored to their 1880s
condition. Self-guided tours, hiking, and special events highlight the Fort’s
year-round interpretive program.
The
frontier post of Fort Davis, established in 1854 and serving the Texas
frontier until 1891, provided a strategic factor in the defense system
of the American Southwest. The Fort’s garrison protected settlers, mail
coaches, wagon trains, and travelers enduring the San Antonio-El Paso
road, and, until 1861, soldiers stayed busy driving Comanche, Kiowa, and
Apaches from the region. The Fort’s location, at the mouth of a box
canyon on the eastern side of the Davis Mountains, provided a suitable
advantage for fending off attacks, mustering troops, and staging
defenses. Abandoned for a period after the Civil War, the Fort’s
primitive structures had little to offer the Ninth U.S. Cavalry who
arrived in 1867 to reoccupy the post. In two short years, however,
permanent quarters, barracks, a guardhouse, and storehouses were raised
and by the end of the 1880s Fort Davis harbored more than 100 structures
and quartered more than 400 soldiers, including the famed Buffalo
Soldiers. Today, the Fort and surrounding grounds comprise the Fort
Davis National Historic Site, considered one of the country’s best
surviving examples of a frontier military post in the Southwest.
Twenty-four roofed buildings remain, along with over 100 ruins and
foundations. Five of the historic buildings have been restored to their
1880s condition. Self-guided tours, hiking, and special events highlight
the Fort’s year-round interpretive program. - See more at:
http://texasmountaintrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/fort-davis-national-historic-site#sthash.wn4vHOXd.dpuf
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