When pioneers and gold seekers surged west in the mid-1800s, national concern
focused on secure travel routes. In Texas, nearly 600 miles of wilderness
stretched between San Antonio and El Paso. Fort Davis, established in 1854, was
the first military post to guard the route.
The trauma of the Civil War stripped the frontier of military protection, and
little of value remained when federal troops returned in 1867. New construction
produced substantial rock and adobe buildings that housed up to 12 companies of
cavalry and infantry. Post-war troopers were black "buffalo soldiers," many of
them former slaves from Southern plantations.
As the western movement resumed, troopers patrolled the road, escorted mail
and wagon trains, and mounted expeditions into the wilderness territory until
the fort was deactivated in 1891.
Now operated by the National Park Service, Fort Davis is a superb example of
frontier forts from that era, including both ruins and restorations. A museum in
reconstructed barracks vividly interprets frontier military life. Another
feature is a sound re-creation of a 19th-century military parade—bugles and
hoofbeats, the clank and jangle of mounted troops, and music from band manuals
of 1875. Echoing over the empty parade ground, it is a haunting whisper from the
past.
Open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, except national holidays. Admission charge. On the
northern edge of town. From I-10 on the north, or U.S. 90 from the south, the
site can be reached by Texas 17 and Texas 118. 432/426-3224, ext. 20. www.nps.gov/foda.