Fort Davis National Historic Site

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Think about how long ago this was – 1854.

On that year Fort Davis was first established, named after the then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis.

The Fort was placed on the east side of the Davis Mountains, which at the time was a location with plenty of water, food, and resources. For almost thirty years, the troops assigned here fought the Apaches and the Comanches, protecting travelers on their way west to California. Fort Davis, therefore, is an important part of the Indian Wars history.

By 1891 Fort Davis had “outlived its usefulness” and ordered abandoned. (By 1880 the last bunch of Apaches had been forced into Mexico.) It wasn’t until seventy years later, in 1961, that Fort Davis was authorized as a national historic site.

Today, the ruins of a hundred buildings remain – barracks, homes, a church, a hospital, with a few reconstructed and furnished with items of the era to give the visitor an idea of how the soldiers lived during the Fort’s heyday.

The visitor can hike up the Davis Mountains, a totally worth effort that gives an incredible view from the top. It is just like a cowboy movie, where you expect to see the feathers of an Indian headdress appear above the rocks at any moment.

It does not take long to feel the energy of the place, helped by the military taps that can be heard periodically, as well as the sound of far away shooting (not sure whether a shooting range is close by or if it comes from hunters).

At the time Fort Davis was established, the town of Fort Davis did not exist. The city was born as a result of the military post; therefore, the entrance to the historic site is right off Highway 17 basically from the center of the town.

There is a $3 entrance charge into the historic site, and you can tour everything and get a short hike done in just a couple of hours.

It is beautiful here. Fort Davis has a magical way to make all the history you learned in school (and from westerns flicks) become alive and real.



Fort Davis National Historic Site

Fort Davis, Texas

[phone] x 220

http://www.nps.gov/foda/index.htm

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