Fort Davis · 1936
Established by Lieut. Col. Washington Seawell with six companies of the Eighth U.S. Infantry in October 1854 for protecting travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road. Named in honor of the then Secretary of War,…
View on map ↗Jeff Davis County, Texas
Historical Markers in Fort Davis, Texas
Fort Davis is home to 22 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Jeff Davis County · 1936
Formed from Presidio County. Created March 15, 1887. Organized May 16, 1887. Named in honor of Jefferson Davis. 1806-1868. President of the Confederate States. Fort Davis, County Seat, Presidio County, 1875. County…
View on map ↗Wild Rose Pass · 1936
In early days the Indian trail through these mountains followed the gorge below known as Limpia Canyon. To avoid the floods travelers over the San Antonio - El Paso Road, emigrants, U.S. troops and supply trains, and…
View on map ↗Fort Davis United Methodist Church · 1962
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View on map ↗Old Fort Davis C. S. A. · 1963
(Star and Wreath) Confederate supply point and frontier outpost on great military road from San Antonio to El Paso 1861-62. After surrendered by U. S. Army, occupied by detachment 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles. Apaches…
View on map ↗Confederate President Jefferson Davis · 1964
(1808-1889) Friend of Texas. Visited first as officer Mexican War 1847. As U. S. Secretary of War in 1855, built up frontier forts to open West Texas to settlers. Camels imported for patrols, hauling. His…
View on map ↗Trueheart House · 1964
An excellent example of a Queen Anne style house executed in native stone, adobe, and milled wood, this house was built about 1898 as a summer home for the family of Henry M. and Annie Trueheart, residents of Galveston,…
View on map ↗Barry Scobee Mountain · 1965
(6300 ft. elev.) Camp grounds and lookout post (1850s-1880s) for military, mail coaches, freighters, travelers, emigrants. Site of area's last Indian raid, 1881. Part of John G. Prude Ranch. Named by Gov. John Connally…
View on map ↗Union Mercantile · 1965
Founded 1873 by O. M. Keesey and Geo. Gaither in adobe building on this site. Later owned by W. Keesey, an army baker, who sold clothing, groceries, cradles, guns, whiskey, coffins, tobacco, spittoons, wagonwheels, and…
View on map ↗First Rural School West of Pecos River · 1967
Built 1881 of adobe brick, by settlers P. H. Pruett, Cal Nations, James Dawson, Joe Dorsey. At the same time Pruett built home a half-mile north. A Texas Rangers' camp in area gave protection from Indians. Mrs. Pruett…
View on map ↗Pioneer Cemetery · 1967
Used from 1870s to 1914. Settlers buried here include: Mr. and Mrs. Diedrick Dutchover, immigrants from Belgium and Spain; their surname, coined by a recruiter in the Mexican War, is borne by many descendants. Dolores,…
View on map ↗McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas · 1968
Original unit in complex forming one of the great observatory centers of the world. Built in the 1930s under terms of legacy from William Johnson McDonald (1844-1926), a Paris (Texas) banker interested in the stars. A…
View on map ↗San Antonio-El Paso Road · 1986
Westward expeditions opened trails from San Antonio to El Paso in the late 1840s. Two routes, called the upper and lower roads, converged at the Pecos River to traverse the Davis Mountains. Henry Skillman (1814-1864)…
View on map ↗Hotel Limpia · 1995
Named for a nearby creek, was built here by the Union Trading Company in 1912. With a doctor's office, drugstore, stylish guest rooms, and spacious porches the hotel became a community social center where area news…
View on map ↗Prude Ranch · 1996
Andrew Prude purchased three sections of land here in 1897 from J. F. Taylor, and established the A. G. Prude Ranch. Soon he moved his wife Ora to a small log house on their property on Limpia Creek. In 1900 he…
View on map ↗First Baptist Church of Fort Davis · 1997
The Rev. L. R. Millican and the Rev. D. B. Rose established this church in 1896 with six charter members. Services were held on alternate Sundays in churches shared with the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations…
View on map ↗St. Joseph Catholic Church · 1999
Catholic clergy began serving residents of the Fort Davis area about 1872. Father Joseph Hoban was appointed pastor in 1876 and the First St Joseph Catholic Church building was erected in 1879. Father Hoban was followed…
View on map ↗Jeff Davis County Courthouse · 2000
Designed by the architectural firm of l. L. Thurman and Co. of Dallas, this building was erected in 1910-1911 and replaced the original 1880 adobe courthouse. This concrete and stone Classical Revival edifice, erected…
View on map ↗Jeff Davis County Jail · 2010
THE COMMUNITY OF FORT DAVIS GREW UP AROUND THE MILITARY POST OF THE SAME NAME, ESTABLISHED BY THE U.S. ARMY IN 1854 TO PROTECT TRAVELERS ON THE SAN ANTONIO-EL PASO ROAD. FORT DAVIS WAS DESIGNATED AS THE PRESIDIO COUNTY…
View on map ↗Smith-Carlton Adobe House · 2013
In 1873, Archie Smith, a former Buffalo Soldier in the 24th U.S. Infantry at Fort Davis, built a home on 160 acres near the base of Dolores Mountain using local materials. Native oak beams support the near-rectangular…
View on map ↗Granado Mountain · 2015
The 6,076-foot high peak traditionally known as Granado Mountain or La Granada was named for Trinidad Granado (1868-1958), a rancher whose ranch was at the base of the mountain. The original owner was Belgian-born…
View on map ↗Grierson-Sproul House · 2016
This masonry residence resembles other buildings in the community, including several officer’s quarters at the military post of Fort Davis. Completed in 1908 by B. H. Grierson Jr., the house incorporates pink volcanic…
View on map ↗Discover Fort Davis’s history on the road
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