As it winds its way across Texas, the Pecos River can often be swift and dangerous. Historically, frequent flooding made even the best crossings unusable. In May 1684, Spanish explorer Juan Domínguez de Mendoza and his expedition team camped at a . . . — — Map (db m150323) HM
O. W. Parker (1876-1962) moved to Crockett County in 1902 and worked for local ranchers until he eventually established his own ranch. Parker had this house built for his family after the 1926 Yates oil field discovery brought prosperity to the . . . — — Map (db m150324) HM
Built 1902. Second courthouse for county. American Gothic architecture, planned by Oscar Ruffini, San Angelo. Material is fine stone quarried nearby on Meyer and Couch properties. Cost $30,000.
Early day community social center. Used for cowboy . . . — — Map (db m116313) HM
Built 1892, about a year after county's organization; contractor was Z.D. Gafford of San Angelo. Building stone was quarried to north of structure, on Meyers property. Tower may have been designed for hangings, but no gallows were ever installed. . . . — — Map (db m116730) HM
In 1923 World Oil Co., owned by Chester R. Bunker, Ft. Worth publisher and printer, began drilling on the L. P. Powell Ranch. Work progressed slowly, depending on the availability of money, under the direction of superintendent Mickey Green and the . . . — — Map (db m117985) HM
(Inscription on front of monument)
.. Be sure you are right - then go ahead ..
(Inscription on rear of monument)
David Crockett was born in Tennessee on August 17, 1786
Participated in the Creek Indian Campaign 1813-1814 . . . — — Map (db m116599) HM
The first platted town in Crockett County, Emerald was founded in 1889 by Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Immigration Agent T. W. Wilkinson. It was to be an agricultural shipping point on a planned extension of the F.W. & R.G. Publicized from Maine . . . — — Map (db m117502) HM
A native of Illinois, E. M. Powell was a surveyor and railroad engineer in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1874. He worked as a surveyor during the railroad construction boom in Texas in the 1870s, taking parcels of land in payment for his . . . — — Map (db m143982) HM
Site 33 miles west on U.S. 290. Upon U.S. surrender Texas forts start of Civil War. Made part Confederate far western frontier line. Occupied by 2nd Texas Cavalry on supply line to and from Arizona-New Mexico. Campaign 1861-62, intended to make . . . — — Map (db m7284) HM
A Confederate veteran. Captain, Co. B. 2nd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, Civil War. Born in Mississippi. Came to Texas, 1877. Served as county clerk after moving here, 1888.
Married Elizabeth A. Royal. One of his 5 children was U.S. Congressman . . . — — Map (db m126676) HM
First station after leaving Ozona on the San Angelo-Ozona mail line. Here, at the 20-mile point of an 86-mile run, fresh horses awaited. The stand, built in 1902, served one of Texas' last commercial stage lines.
Ten horses were kept here, as at . . . — — Map (db m116312) HM
A Confederate veteran.
Born in Lamar County. In Civil War, was in Co. G, Col. R.T.P. Allen's Texas Infantry, and was discharged in 1865.
On September 5, 1871, married Miss Matilda Peacock, in Lampasas County. They had 2 sons. Moved to . . . — — Map (db m126679) HM
Although Indians, Spaniards, wagon trains, and military expeditions crossed through this area earlier, the first permanent settlers in present-day Crockett County were native Texans Laura (McNutt) (1862-1941) and William Peery Hoover (1854-1922), . . . — — Map (db m126680) HM
Built about 1893. From its early days, boarded teachers, visiting athletic teams and business callers in city.
Noted guests of 1919-1921 were geologists and lease men seeking to develop the now-significant oil fields of Crockett . . . — — Map (db m116349) HM
The first permanent school building in Ozona; constructed of native limestone in 1910-1912, when Ozona was only 21 years old. The heating and ventilating system, never before used in the state when installed here, is still in operation daily. . . . — — Map (db m116729) HM
Constructed 1905 for county's first financial institution.
Organized by cattle and sheep ranchers and the town's doctor.
During construction of native stone building, banking was done next door in store of L. B. Cox, vice-president. J. W. . . . — — Map (db m116315) HM
By the 1920s many ranchers in Crockett County had fenced their land, preventing their neighbors from driving sheep and cattle to the railroad shipping point in Barnhart (23 miles north of here). A solution to the problem was offered by the . . . — — Map (db m116311) HM
Focus for civic life in early Ozona. City founder E. M. Powell provided the water well equipped with 18-foot windmill, a water trough, and a small cypress tank.
At first meeting of Crockett County Commissioners Court, July 22, 1891, under a . . . — — Map (db m116594) HM
This site was selected for the Crockett County seat in 1891 because of a producing water well (200' northwest). Joe Moss, who drilled for water throughout the area, dug the well for E. M. Powell (1847-1925), railroad surveyor, financier, and land . . . — — Map (db m116593) HM
U.S. Army veteran of Civil War, discharged after loss of arm, siege of Vicksburg.
Born in Pennsylvania. Came to Texas after war. Was a farmer-teacher-postmaster.
Wives: (1) Melinde Beal; (2) Zilla Parker. Had 4 children. Lived in Ozona . . . — — Map (db m117983) HM
A Confederate veteran, of 18th La. Cav. Bn., Civil War.
Born in Louisiana. Came to Texas in 1872; to Ozona, 1891. Built city's first school, first courthouse, Baptist church, other structures.
Married Alice Crimm, March 1, 1876. Had three . . . — — Map (db m126678) HM
Flagstone ruins nearby mark site of early 1900s stage stand, first stop on passenger and mail line connecting Ozona with Southern Pacific railhead at Comstock — 80 miles distant.
When stage pulled in about 8:30 A.M. (having left Ozona at . . . — — Map (db m79331) HM
Although the early history of this structure is unrecorded, it is known that the house originally was built in the townsite of Emerald (9 miles east). Established in 1889 as Crockett County's first settlement, Emerald was the colonization project of . . . — — Map (db m117507) HM
In 1892 Claude B. Hudspeth (1877-1941) began publication of a weekly newspaper called the "Ozona Kicker." Following his three-year ownership, Hudspeth entered politics, serving first in the Texas Legislature and later as representative from the . . . — — Map (db m300816) HM
In 1893, T.L. Hammonds moved a 3-room frame house from the nearby town of Emerald to this site. In 1894, Phillip Perner (1860-1905), a local merchant, purchased and enlarged the structure. Following Perner's death, his wife, Mary Ross . . . — — Map (db m127877) HM
Born in Maryland. Fought in Civil War as a Virginian in the Confederate Army, although he had brothers in the U.S. Army. He came to Texas soon after the war. Married Henrietta Norrid in Fredericksburg, August 23, 1870. Lived in Ozona in old age. . . . — — Map (db m117977) HM
A versatile sculptor of people, animals, birds and religious symbols, McVey attended the University of Texas and taught art there and at Rice University. He played football at Rice under the legendary coach John Heisman in 1924. McVey studied and . . . — — Map (db m7286) HM
The bakery was a stone and adobe building with a large oven that measured approximately 12 feet wide and 11-feet deep. The fort's baker, also a soldier, was responsible for providing the daily ration of bread for an average of 130 men. In 1860, . . . — — Map (db m312015) HM
On December 26, 1867, the 40 soldiers and officers of Company K, 9th Cavalry, were attacked at Fort Lancaster by an estimated 400 Kickapoo and their allies. The battle began when the teamster leading the horses to water, William Sharpe, was lassoed, . . . — — Map (db m201737) HM
The largest residence at the fort housed the Commanding Officer and his family. They provided hospitality for important travelers to the fort.
"Captain Carpenter invited us to take a bite with him. We availed ourselves of the invitation with . . . — — Map (db m201707) HM
The commissary, along with the quartermaster storehouse, was one of the first stone buildings constructed at Fort Lancaster. It supplied soldiers with government-issued provisions, uniforms, and bedding. Provisions were bought from private . . . — — Map (db m201725) HM
These barracks closely resembled those of Company K, except that they were vacated two years earlier. In 1859, the Army transferred Company H to a newly established post along the Lower San Antonio-El Paso Road that would eventually become Fort . . . — — Map (db m202171) HM
Soldiers originally lived in quickly built structures made of locally available materials or prefabricated Turnley Cottages. Neither type of building was comfortable or effective at shielding the occupants from the weather. The permanent stone and . . . — — Map (db m201729) HM
This small cemetery is one of two known at Fort Lancaster. The fort likely had an official post military cemetery but its location is not known and the burials there would have been relocated to another fort when Fort Lancaster was decommissioned. . . . — — Map (db m201721) HM
The post hospital was an adobe structure with a dispensary, storeroom, and a small three-bed ward. There was also an attached kitchen building. The hospital staff included a civilian surgeon, a hospital steward, a nurse, a matron, and a dedicated . . . — — Map (db m201719) HM
First known to civilized men in the 18th century, when, according to legend, Franciscan Padre Alvarez prayed for water to ease his thirst, put down his staff, and saw a spring gush forth from the ground. This landmark of western travel was named for . . . — — Map (db m85005) HM
Each company had its own dedicated kitchen and mess hall where cooks, often soldiers themselves, prepared and served meals for the enlisted soldiers. Meals revolved around limited food supplies-mostly beef, bread, and canned goods but a garden . . . — — Map (db m202172) HM
In 1860, there were four laundresses employed for Company K at Fort Lancaster. Each had her own living quarters made of adobe, complete with an open hearth and stone chimney. Typically, laundresses charged each soldier $2.00 per month for washing, . . . — — Map (db m202176) HM
Soldiers burned limestone in the kiln to create quicklime, an ingredient in the mortar, stucco, and whitewash used in the construction of the post buildings. A large amount of wood, which was a scarce resource, was needed to fuel the kiln. They . . . — — Map (db m201723) HM
Each officer's quarters originally consisted of two rooms separated by a double fireplace with a detached kitchen behind. By 1860, the kitchens had been attached and half of the structures had wooden shingle roofs. Both unmarried officers and those . . . — — Map (db m201716) HM
Route of march and troop supply on Texas frontier. Followed in part pre-Columbian Indian trails and "Old Chihuahua Trail" that ran from San Antonio to El Paso and Mexico. In 1840s this was extended to Gulf Coast Port of Indianola where imported . . . — — Map (db m126683) HM
The Quartermaster provided general supplies and rations for soldiers. He also oversaw the bakery, blacksmith's shop, and carpenter's shop. He also supervised the corral, granary and hay yard for the fort's horses and mules.
Caption . . . — — Map (db m202178) HM
Established in 1855 by the United States Government as a protection to travelers and mail on the overland route from San Antonio to San Diego. Abandoned in 1861. Reoccupied in 1868 for a short time. — — Map (db m126687) HM
Owned and operated by a civilian merchant, the sutler's store was the only two-story building at Fort Lancaster. The sutler sold liquor, tobacco, and supplies to travelers as well as soldiers. This building also served as a stage relay station for . . . — — Map (db m201722) HM
The Chihuahua Trail was opened by segments, but was not called by this name until the 19th century. A small part of the route, along the nearby Pecos River, was followed by the Spaniard Gaspar Castano de Sosa in 1590, during an expedition to New . . . — — Map (db m126681) HM
Spanning 82 acres in the Pecos River valley, Fort Lancaster State Historic Site commemorates the vestiges of a post established in 1855 to protect the military route between San Antonio and El Paso. Visitors wander through ruins imagining the . . . — — Map (db m308405) HM
