How to take a Ride at Fort Lancaster!
Fort Lancaster State Historic Site is just off the freeway when you are going from San Antonio, Texas to Fort Stockton, Texas. I was headed to Big Bend National Park and took the extra 15 or 20 minutes off the highway 10. It is just about 3 1/2 hours from San Antonio and a great place to have a picnic lunch before or after walking around the fort. The picnic area is off to the right before you pull up to the entrance and museum of the Fort.
Inside the Museum which has a great little video about the place and a lots of historical information and artifacts. Plan to spend about 30 minutes or more inside. Puppies are not allowed in the museum but they allow them to walk in the back with a leash. Please clean up after your puppies and keep them on the paths! Otherwise, they will have to band this practice.
As you leave out the back door, you can see the fort is rather large with several paths. If you are willing to with sign a waiver, then they will allow you to use a golf cart. I am more of a walker so I just walked around. The Fort is great with signs that tell all about the Fort and the buildings that you see along the way.
The Fort has not been restored but stand with what is left of the buildings. (Note: Many Forts would be raided after the military left by locals for their stones.) Most of the building foundation rocks were are left as well as a few walls and chimneys. Along the above picture is two company barracks and a few other buildings down the way.
The Fort did not have any walls around it because you could see people coming toward you with the dust that they and their horse would have created. It was a stop for those that were headed west and for the mail carries. It was a place to stay for a few days and to pick up soldiers to go along with the wagon trains when needed.
Behind the barracks is another roll of building which included the laundress which the Fort had enough soldiers to have at least 2. This would be one of the only paying jobs for women at the Fort by the military. Usually, it was a wife of a soldier or widow who would take on this work. But they had their own house and were allowed to travel with soldiers as they moved from place to place. Laundry was one of the hardest jobs during this time period.
The blacksmith shop would be the next in the Texas heat. I could not imagine the Texas heat and having to work with a fire to make horse shoes and other items.
The Texas area is under extreme drought and has very little rain at the moment. I must have done a rain dance outside because I got soaked. If you see clouds coming over the mountains at a high rate of speed, you might want to get back to the building before they rain on you. I know I was already going to get wet so I just keep walking in the rain. I just did not realize how hard those drops were going to be or that I would be soaked all the way throw by the time I got to the van.
Brief History
As gold was discovered in California 1949, the San Antonio-El Paso Road was used by those going that way. It was an area that had Comanche, Kiowa, and Lipan Apache Native Groups. They were very upset about these travelers going through land and some trying settle over their lands. The military established several Forts along the way. Unfortunately, there was about 300 miles of road that did not have a Fort.
In 1855, Fort Lancaster was created to help cover some of that 300 miles. It would become part of the U.S. Government trying Camels in the desert. Unfortunately, due to the Civil War, Texas left the Union and US Troops left the Fort. The Camels left with them and the Confederates took the Fort over for a short time but did not stay for long and the Fort was destroyed by fire either by the Natives or the Confederates.
After the Civil War, in 1867, the Fort was reoccupied by the U.S. troops. The U.S. 9th Calvary’s Company K would occupy the Fort. It was a company of African American soldiers with commissioned White Officers. The seasoned troops would fend off an attack from Natives shortly after their arrival and proof that they were needed and their battle readiness.
African American troops would be used throughout Texas during this time. But they were not treated as equals. The military did give many of these men careers after the Civil War when jobs were hard to find for people. But they would not be allowed to be officers for many years in the future. They would also be put in the worst jobs in the military.