Why You Need To Visit Fort Stockton!
Historic Fort Stockton is in the town of Fort Stockton, Texas. The town grow up around the Fort and is a great place to spend a day or two. It has lots of interesting things to do. Unfortunately, I was driving through going to Big Bend National Park and did not have time to see everything. Plus a few places are only open certain days.
But this is a great place to stop before driving the rest of the way to Big Bend National Park. It is about 2 1/2 hours away and has all the shopping that you need to stock up before you go to Big Bend National Park. Big Bend had very little shopping but enough to get the small items that you forgot but the prices are a bit high, i.e. Disneyland prices on most things.
The Fort has several buildings that you can go into when it is open but the grounds are opened after and before. Check out their website for more information as hours may change. Four of the buildings are original and several other were rebuild from the original blueprints.
The Guard House is one of the original buildings and it great to walk around in. The building has two different areas that the prisoners were keep. One of the rooms is very small and the other large with the chains on the walls for the prisoners. Plus the area that the guards lived in with a nice fireplace.
It also has several other items that are historical value! It a great building to visit!
Another building that was open was the museum and guest greeting area. It has two great videos to watch about the Fort. Plus a lot of information about the area.
The kitchen and the officers quarters were closed but they did have another building that was open. Walking around the Fort was nice. Thinking about those that came in the past.
On the side of the Fort is a church that has historical value. It still is working as a church and if you have a chance on a Sunday, great place to do a services.
The Hovey School is also on the side of the Fort. It was closed when I was around and the weather was about to change so, I skipped it. But I wish that it had been opened.
Between the church and the school is the Collins house which seemed to be occupied by tenants that should not be disturbed. It was a great area to pick up local history. Downtown, a short distance away. They have Annie Riggs Memorial Museum and a cross the street is the Grey Mule Saloon plus down the street and Old Pesos County Jail which all looked totally cool but closed the day that I was there,
Also, don’t miss the visitor center as it was very cool with lots of information. I think that they have coffee as well.
Brief History
Fort Stockton was very active between 1867 and 1886. Located near the Comanche Springs which is the largest source of spring water in Texas. It helped protect the San Antonio to El Paso mail and was a stop for freight wagons, cattle drives, and those settlers headed west.
It was a stop for the Great Comanche Trail, the San Antonio to El Paso Road, and the Butterfield Overland Mail Route which all have wonderful histories of their own. As a major stop, a town grow up around the fort. The town itself created a great place to stay or get a job before you moved on for many people.
During the Civil War, the Confederates took possession and the Union soldiers left. But after the Civil War, the Federal Government took the fort back over.
The 9th Cavalry was housed here. They were a Cavalry unit of African American Soldiers, or “Buffalo Soldiers”. Several different reasons for the term “Buffalo Soldiers’ being coined but one was that they used buffalo robes in the winter to keep warm.
Native America’s’ would take buffalo hides and turn them into a buffalo role, i.e. a fur overcoat. These robes were first used by Lewis and Clark but African American soldiers on the western frontier.
African American Soldiers would help protect the westward expansion as they built road, fighting with the US Military in military action against the Native Americans, serving with the first national park rangers.
The soldiers believed that this was a way to obtain equal rights. But during this time, African American Soldiers were lead by white US Army officers with the exception of three black officers who graduated from West Point.
Eighteen of the “Buffalo Soldiers” earned Medals of Honor between 1870 and 1890 fighting against American Indian. But it did not help them get the recondition or the political power that should have come out of the Civil War.