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Fort McKavett Historic District
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The parade grounds of Fort McKavett State Historic Site and restored officers' quarters.
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Fort McKavett Historic District
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| Location: | Menard County, Texas, USA |
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| Built: | 1846 |
| Governing body: | Texas Historical Commission |
| NRHP Reference#: | 71000955[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | July 14, 1971 |
| Designated RTHL: | 1936, 1963, 1968 |
Fort McKavett State Historic Site is a state park in Menard County, Texas, United States. Fort McKavett was a frontier fort established as Camp San Saba in 1852 to protect settlers from Indian raids. The camp was renamed in honor of Captain Henry McKavett, who was killed in the Mexican-American War battle of Monterrey.[2]
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On July 4, 1971, Fort McKavett was added to the National Register of Historic Places, number 71000955.[3]
The fort received three Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks: In 1936, Marker number 4795 for the site of Fort McKavett;[4] in 1963, Marker number 1998 for Fort McKavett C.S.A.;[5] and in 1968, Marker number 4642 for the Sentry Building.[6]
Camp followers formed a town a mile north of the post. It was supposed to be named after a German merchant by the surname of Lehne, but went by the unfortunate name of "Scabtown." The historic site itself is located 23 miles west of Menard, Texas.
Fort McKavett was abandoned in 1859 as Indian depredation in the area decreased and civilian migration to the area slowed down. The post was reoccupied by members of Henry McCulloch's Mounted Rifles in the fall of 1861 when the site was used as a temporary prisoner of war camp. The soldiers imprisoned in the fort's barracks were members of one of the six companies (B,E,F,H,I, and K) of the 8th Regiment of Infantry US that had been surrendered at the Battle of Adams Hill, north of San Antonio on May 9, 1861. Fort McKavett remained a prisoner of war camp until the late Spring of 1862 when the prisoners were transferred to Hempstead (near Houston) and then on to Camp Ford in Tyler, Texas. Elements of McCulloch's troops and members of the 31st Brigade of Texas State Troops the used the fort as a base of operations until the end of the war.
The fort was reactivated in 1868 as Indian raids became more frequent. The fort closed for good on June 30, 1883 - but with the Indian threat gone, residents stayed - unlike the previous closing.[7]
By the mid-1890s the community had 80 citizens, a weekly paper - and two hotels. In 1904 the school had twenty-eight students and two teachers.
By the 1920s, Fort McKavett's population was about 150 - falling to 136 during the years of the Great Depression and staying at that level until the 1960s. From a reported 103 in the 70s, it declined to a mere 45 by 1990.
Restoration of the fort began in 1968 when the old school and one of the barracks was acquired and it was under the control of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The restoration continued and by 1990 seventeen buildings had been restored. On January 1, 2008, Fort McKavett was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission. Now known as Fort McKavett State Historic Site, the area is a day-use facility of 82 acres (33 ha). The site is open daily to the public.
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