The Old Stone Fort Museum is located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, in the city and county of

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is a 1936 replica, at a different location, of a structure that had been erected circa 1779 by Nacogdoches militia commander

Antonio Gil Y'Barbo Dón Antonio Gil Ybarbo (1729–1809), also known as ''Gil Ybarbo'', ''Gil Ibarbo'', and many other name variants, was a pioneering settler of Nacogdoches, Texas. Ambiguously described by the National Park Service as a "prolific trader and smuggl ...

. The original building was never a fort, in spite of its

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

. After more than a century serving various purposes, the original structure was demolished. The replica was erected with help from the local Cum Concilio civic organization, and funding from the New Deal economic program of the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

administration. The museum is open to visitors and provides historic exhibits on the grounds of the university.

Origins and history

The original Old Stone Fort was built of native iron ore, circa 1779, as a mercantile house by Antonio Gil Y'Barbo. Because of its iron-brick construction, it was referred to as the Stone House. In 1805, he sold the structure to José Luis de la Bega, and in 1806, Bega sold it to William Barr. Along with fellow merchants Peter Samuel Davenport, Luther Smith, and Edward Murphy, Barr operated the House of Barr and Davenport, an import-export business catering to the indigenous tribes of the area. Davenport established his headquarters as the Nacogdoches agent for the firm in the Old Stone Fort. Davenport outlived his partners—Smith died in 1807, Murphy in 1808, and Barr in 1810—leaving Davenport as the sole proprietor. During the next several years, the structure also served as various government facilities. In a prelude to the

Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Re ...

, Benjamin Haden, brother to

Empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. The word in Spanish for entre ...

Haden Edwards, led several followers in seizing the building on December 16, 1826. Shortly thereafter, Col. José de las Piedras used the structure as his headquarters. In 1829, John Marie Durst purchased the Stone House from Juan Benigno Davenport, Peter Samuel Davenport's son and heir. Durst and his family lived there until 1834 when he sold it to Vicente Córdova. In 1837, the Republic of Texas used the structure as a courtroom under Judge

Robert McAlpin Williamson Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804? – December 22, 1859) was a Republic of Texas Supreme Court Justice, state lawmaker and Texas Ranger. Williamson County, Texas is named for him. He is the first white person documented playing the banjo. Early ...

, who also was known as Three-legged Willie. In 1838, Córdova sold the structure to John S. Roberts, one of the signers of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was forma ...

. Roberts, a former sheriff of Natchitoches, had participated in the

battle of Nacogdoches The Battle of Nacogdoches culminated on August 2, 1832, after a group of Texians resisted an order issued in July by the commander of the Mexican Army at Nacogdoches, Texas to surrender their arms. The situation soon escalated into a major batt ...

in 1832 and the

Siege of Béxar The siege of Béxar (or Béjar) was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution in which a volunteer Texian army defeated Mexican forces at San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas). Texians had become disillusioned with the Mexican governme ...

in 1835. He operated a variety of commercial ventures in the structure before selling it to William and Charles Perkins. They became the last owners of the original building.

Current structure

The Perkins family dismantled the building in 1902, but some of its original stones were preserved by Cum Concilio, a civic organization in Nacogdoches. In 1907, the club used the stones for a small building in Washington Square. Decades later, the New Deal economic program of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration provided funding for the construction of a replica of the old fort on the grounds of Stephen F. Austin State College. Dedication ceremonies were held October 16, 1936. The Building became a museum, which is open to visitors and hosts historic exhibits.

Gallery

File:Old Stone Fort in 1885.png, Old Stone Fort, Nacogdoches, Texas (photograph, circa 1885) File:1888-view-Old Stone Fort-Harby-illus-American Magazine.jpg, Illustration from an article entitled "The Old Stone Fort of Nacogdoches," by Lee C. Harby, published in the April 1888 edition of The American Magazine on page 721 File:Old Stone Fort ca. 1912.png, Old Stone Fort, Nacogdoches, Texas (photograph, circa 1912)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Stone Fort Museums in Nacogdoches County, Texas Works Progress Administration in Texas Stephen F. Austin State University University museums in Texas History museums in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Nacogdoches, Texas

Origins and history

Current structure

Gallery

See also

References

External links