Historic Forts in Texas

Fort McKavett State Historic Site

 

Surrounded by oak and pecan trees on the far western edge of the Texas Hill Country, Fort McKavett is one of the best-preserved examples of a 19th-century fort in Texas. Overlooking the San Saba River 155 miles northwest of San Antonio, the fort and its garrison of up to 500 patrolled the upper San Antonio-El Paso Road and played a role in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon in 1874. Among the garrisoned troops was the Buffalo Soldiers, including Sgt. Emanuel Stance, the first African American recipient of the Medal of Honor.

 

Discover the fort’s many stories as you visit its 14 restored structures, including the hospital, officer’s quarters and barracks. You can even see the rock quarry and lime kiln the soldiers used to build the fort, as well as the spring that served as the primary source of drinking water. Although you can visit year-round, catch one of the fort’s living history presentations that offer an inside look at the ways the men and women who called the fort homemade lives for themselves on the frontier.

 

 

Learn more about these and other Texas Historical Commission’s historic sites here.

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