Fort Graham was a pioneer fort established in 1849 by Brevet Major
R.A. Arnold
Ripley A. Arnold (1817–1853) was a Major (United States), major in the United States Army and founder of Camp Worth in 1849, later renamed Fort Worth, Texas. In 2014 a 22-foot statue was dedicated to Arnold. It was erected along the Trinity Rive ...
(Companies F and I of the Second United States Dragoons)
[ at the site of Jose Maria Village, an Anadaca camp on the western edge of present-day Hill County, ]Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. It remained in service until 1853, when settlements had moved further west. It was named after Col. William M. Graham, who died at the Battle of Molina del Rey.
A line of seven army posts was established in 1848-49 after the Mexican War to protect the settlers of West Texas and included Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Fort Graham, Fort Gates
Fort Gates, was a United States Army fort established on October 26, 1849, as Camp Gates by Captain William Reading Montgomery and two companies of the 8th Infantry Regiment (United States), Eighth United States Infantry. The fort was located on th ...
, Fort Croghan
Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the United States government to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. From its establishment on March 18, 1849, by Lt. C.H. Taylor (Company A, Second Dra ...
, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Lincoln, and Fort Duncan
Fort Duncan was a United States Army base, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas.
History
A line of seven army posts were established in 1848–49 after the Mexican War to protec ...
.
Reconstruction
In 1936, the Texas Centennial Commission granted Hill County $6,700 to purchase the land upon which the Fort stood and reconstruct one of the buildings.
US Army Corps of Engineers and Lake Whitney
In 1953, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
took the fort site as part of the Lake Whitney project. Dr. S. Alan Skinner published, in 1974, ''An Evaluation of the Archaeological Resources at Lake Whitney, Texas'', Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
contributions in anthropology No. 14. The Corps, in accordance with the 1936 dedication, operated a park on the site until 1982 at which time Hill County, Texas
Hill County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,874. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county is named for George Washington Hill, secretary of war and secretary of the navy under the Republic ...
was forced to enter into a lease for the property or lose this culturally significant resource.
Preservation
In 1983, a group of local citizens led by Mrs. Selma Hill raised $15,000 to move the building, determined that the fort be preserved. At this time, the building was only three years from being eligible for the National Register
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on its own merits, but the citizens were never informed of this. Had it achieved National Register status, the Corps would have been forced to take preservative action.
The citizens of the county continued to maintain the site until 2002, when the corps came before the county demanding that a minimum of $60,000 be spent for the revitalization of the area. Hill County did not have sufficient funds, thus it relinquished the lease.
Fort Graham Preservation Society
The Fort Graham Preservation Society, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation established to ensure that the memory of Fort Graham is not lost. It is currently working with federal and county agencies to preserve and revitalize Fort Graham Park and archeological site.
See also
*Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
*Fort Gates
Fort Gates, was a United States Army fort established on October 26, 1849, as Camp Gates by Captain William Reading Montgomery and two companies of the 8th Infantry Regiment (United States), Eighth United States Infantry. The fort was located on th ...
*Fort Croghan
Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the United States government to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. From its establishment on March 18, 1849, by Lt. C.H. Taylor (Company A, Second Dra ...
* Fort Martin Scott
*Fort Inge
Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas, United States.
History
Established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849, Fort Inge was garrisoned intermittently until March 19, 1869. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assign ...
*Fort Duncan
Fort Duncan was a United States Army base, set up to protect the first U.S. settlement on the Rio Grande near the current town of Eagle Pass, Texas.
History
A line of seven army posts were established in 1848–49 after the Mexican War to protec ...
References
External links
*
* {{cite web , title=U.S. Army on the Texas Frontier , url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/forts/military.html , website=Texas Beyond History , publisher=University of Texas at Austin
Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
Buildings and structures in Hill County, Texas
Military installations established in 1849
1849 establishments in Texas