Fort Martin Scott, Texas. (original) (raw)
The United States Army established Fort Martin Scott, which became a boon to the local economy. Once cannibalized for its building stone, the fort is now defined by a reconstructed building - with more planned. Soon after the Texas legislature made Fredericksburg the Gillespie county seat.
Site of Fort Martin Scott
Centennial Marker
1936 Centennial Marker (on US 290)
Site of Fort Martin Scott
Established by the United States Army,
December 5, 1848,
as a protection to travelers and
settlers against Indian attack.
Named in honor of Major Martin Scott,
brevet lieutenant colonel,
5th United States Infantry,
killed at Molino Del Ray,
September 8, 1847.
Its garrison participated in many Indian skirmishes.
Occupied intermittently after 1852.
Held by the confederates, 1861-65.
Permanently abandoned in December, 1866.
Fort Martin Scott, Texas Chronicles
- Strolling Through the Gillespie County Fair by Michael Barr
"... The Gillespie County Fair dates to 1881. John Braeutigam hosted the first fairs at the site of old Fort Martin Scott. Braeutigam bought the property after the army moved out in 1866.
The Breautigam family lived in one of the buildings and converted the officers' quarters into a dancehall called Braeutigam's Garten. It was the first dancehall in Gillespie County.
Fort Martin Scott was a natural place to hold a county fair. The old barracks became the exhibit hall. The parade ground across the creek was the racetrack. There were dances at Braeutigam's Garten.
Then in 1889 the Gillespie County Fair moved uptown to an area known as Central Park..." more - Teamsters were Fredericksburg's Lifeline by Michael Barr
"... Before the railroad came to Fredericksburg in 1913, teamsters were the community's lifeline. Every consumer item not produced locally had to be freighted in over rough country from a considerable distance.
The earliest teamsters used oxen to haul freight to Fredericksburg and Fort Martin Scott, but by the 1880s they switched to mules and horses. Oxen were strong, reliable and could pull a lot of weight, but they never got in much of a hurry.
A trip by ox wagon from Fort Martin Scott to Fort Mason, a distance of 45 miles, took most of a week. A trip from Fort Martin Scott to Fort McKavett, a distance of 95 miles, could take 2 weeks, depending on weather conditions..." more