Ft Stockton RV Park- Fort Stockton, Texas

 Ft Stockton RV Park- Fort Stockton, Texas 

The town of Fort Stockton has an interesting history. Fort Lancaster sent 1st Infantry Co. H "to take post" along Comanche Springs in 1859. Fort Stockton grew up around Comanche Springs, one of the largest sources of spring water in Texas. Comanche Springs was a favorite rest stop on the Great Comanche Trail to Chihuahua, San Antonio-El Paso Road, and the Butterfield Overland Mail route. 

In 1867, the Army rebuilt the fort on a larger and more permanent basis.

On 21 July 1867, Fort Stockton was reoccupied by Companies A, B, E, and K of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. The buffalo soldiers were under the command of General Edward Hatch, while a new fort was built one-half mile north of the first post, on the west side of the creek

San Antonio entrepreneurs were convinced the water from the nearby Comanche and Leon Springs could be used for irrigation. They purchased large tracts of land for agricultural development in 1868. Later, Gallagher and John James purchased 5,500 acres along Comanche Creek.

By 1870, some settlers were using the water from the Pecos River for irrigation. Seven years later, irrigated farmland comprised 7,000 acres, and by 1945, the total reached 12,900 acres. In 1951, Clayton Williams Sr. and other "pump farmers" west of town drilled irrigation wells that tapped into the aquifer that fed Comanche Springs. A lawsuit was filed by the Pecos County Water District #1, and 108 families who depended on the flow from the springs, to stop the pumping (Pecos County Water District #1 v. Clayton Williams et al.). On June 21, 1954, the Texas Court of Civil Appeals ruled in favor of Clayton Williams, et al. by upholding "the rule of capture", agreeing with the landmark 1904 Texas Supreme Court decision that groundwater was "too mysterious to regulate". The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the decision. By the late 1950s, Comanche Springs was dry due to the pumping. This ruling established what is known as "the rule of capture" and has regulated groundwater in Texas since. In his book, The Springs of Texas, author Gunnar Brune called the destruction of Comanche Springs, "the most spectacular example of man's abuse of nature".

This sign actually made it into the top ten things to see and do in the area, per Trip Advisor.  You know your options are fairly limited when a sign makes the list.

This sculpture of "Paisano Pete" also made it onto the top 10 must see list.  Karma has learned that sculptures mean sit, stop and smile for daddy (aka assume the position).

At the Visitors Center, Lisa and Karma were learning more about Texas. The things on display were all significant to Texas history and life.

The old train depot has been converted and currently houses the Visitors Center.

Karma decided it was time for a drink and a dip in the water.  He gets giddy, just like a toddler, playing in water. He does keep us entertained...

We visited the Annie Riggs Museum. This sprawling, single-story adobe brick building with its wrap-around verandas and gingerbread trim looks much the way it did under Annie’s ownership. A classic example of the Territorial style architecture of the frontier period, the Riggs Museum served as a boarding house and income stream for Annie until she died at 73 in 1931. In 1955, Annie Riggs’ heirs deeded the hotel to the Fort Stockton Historical Society for a museum. A local history and pioneer museum showcasing artifacts ranging from turn of the century furnishings, an extensive photograph collection, and archaeological artifacts including a mammoth tusk discovered on a dig just outside of town!

Kitchen implements from the early 1900's were a tad less technical than what we use now.

We saw an Eldridge B pedal sewing machine exactly like the one my (Mark) Grandmother gave me.

A Surrey from the era of horse and buggy days.

Mold of a foot print from a Dinosaur that was local to the area is on display.

A fossilized mammoth molar is also on display.

Ft Stockton City Hall looked a bit more impressive in real life more than it does in the picture.

Historic Fort Stockton

At first inception, the post known as Fort Stockton served as a camp, helping to establish a military presence in 1858 in the region. The location was a key stopover along the San Antonio-El Paso road due to an abundant water supply from the Comanche Springs. The spring water, said to issue from the ground “like a sea monster”, provided essential resources for travelers, including the Comanche who maintained their own camp around the springs long before the military began to dominate the region. Although the arrival of soldiers, courtesy of Camp Stockton, reduced confrontation between conflicting forces, Native American presence wouldn’t end completely until the arrival of the U.S. Cavalry in 1867. The soldiers re-occupied the post after a brief abandonment during the Civil War, establishing the post as Fort Stockton. The military post was garrisoned by four companies of the 9th Cavalry including members of the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Today, the remains of the Fort feature restored original and reconstructed buildings and are highlighted by the Officer’s Row, the guardhouse, and the enlisted men’s barracks. Together with the parade grounds, the surviving structures comprise a National Register Historic District. A Visitors’ Center provides an introduction to the history of the fort and the Historic Fort Stockton Museum, located in Barracks number one, features interpretive exhibits.

Lisa and Karma in the Jail cell at the fort.

Lisa and Karma were in solitary confinement. It was definitely not a very hospitable or comfortable place to be in the hot Texas sun. 

Officers quarters being restored.  The walls are adobe and then smoothed out with Hay and a plaster mixture.

The Officer's quarters are amazingly still intact.

Karma was admiring Lisa (according to Mark). Lisa thinks he was saying he was hot and tired so please speed this up and lets go somewhere air conditioned.

Barracks 2 has been restored to the way it would have been when the Buffalo Soldiers were living in the fort in the 1870's.

This is the first  Yucca flower in early stages of blooming we have seen this spring.

We saw this rock wall which had been cut out to allow I-10 to pass through it.

These are closeups of the rock wall.  You can see shells and other organisms that were caught in the sediment during the Permian Period leaving fossilized remnants behind.

Texas really likes their bronze/metal cut outs and sculptures. This series depicts the Buffalo Soldiers entering Fort Stockton from the East.

There are many decorations of this style in the area.   Large pieces of plate steel have been cut into a figure.  The metal is not preserved and they are allowed to weather.  In the Southwest, there is very little rusting due to the low humidity.