April 17, 2025 • 38 mins
The famous historical landmarks of Texas like the Alamo and San Jacinto battlefield draw thousands of visitors each year, but the Lone Star State harbors dozens of lesser-known historic treasures that tell equally compelling stories without the crowds. In this episode, we uncover twenty overlooked historic sites across Texas that reveal surprising chapters of the state's rich past.
These overlooked historic gems provide a deeper, more nuanced understanding of Texas history than you'll find at the famous landmarks. Head to TheTravelingFool.com for more information and leave a review if you enjoyed discovering these hidden historic treasures!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bob Bales (00:00):
Hi, and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show
where we explore the mostintriguing aspects of travel,
culture, and history.
I'm your host, Bob Bales, andtoday we are covering 20
historic sites in Texas that areoften overlooked.
These aren't the big names likeThe Alamo or San Jacinto that
draw big crowds.
These are quieter spots, forts,missions, homes, battlegrounds,
the Alamo or San Jacinto thatdraw crowds.
These tell just as much aboutTexas's past, if not more.
(00:27):
I've visited most myself.
I've talked to locals andhistorians about others and put
together a list that's worthyour time.
If you're into history andtravel, I'll give you the
history on each place, someunique facts, notable people who
were there and a fewinteresting things nearby today.
So stay tuned.
(01:08):
Texas is a big state with a hugehistory Native tribes going
back thousands of years, Spanishsettlers in the 1700s, the
fight for independence in the1830s, the Civil War and the
growth after that.
The famous sites get all thevisitors, but these 20 are
different.
They're spread across the state, from the deserts of West Texas
(01:30):
to the Gulf Coast, and theyshow parts of the past that
don't always make it into theguidebooks.
Some are ruins from thefrontier days.
Some are preserved homes fromkey figures, others are
battlefields or old militaryposts that shaped what Texas
became.
They're not crowded, they don'thave big tourist setups, just
real history waiting for you toexplore, and I would bet a lot
(01:53):
of Texans don't even know aboutsome of these.
I'll start out west and work myway across the state.
Now here's the first one.
Fort Leighton State HistoricSite in Presidio.
Now it's located in theChihuahuan Desert in far west
Texas, about four miles from theMexican border and 20 miles
(02:13):
southeast of Big Bend NationalPark.
This site dates to 1848, whenBenjamin Leighton, a trader from
New Orleans, built it as aprivate trading post along the
Chihuahua Trail, a major routelinking San Antonio to Chihuahua
Mexico, used since the Spanishcolonial days.
Now, Leighton was a toughcharacter.
(02:35):
Born in 1819 in Alabama, he hadworked as a scalp hunter in
Mexico, hired to fight Apacheraids, before settling here with
his wife.
His wife, Juana Pedraza, camefrom a prominent Mexican family,
and he constructed this massiveadobe fort covering over an
acre, with 40 rooms around acentral courtyard, thick walls
(02:58):
up to three feet wide, and afortified entrance.
It wasn't just a home, it washis business hub, where he
traded goods like guns, whiskey,and blankets with the tribes,
Mexican merchants, and localranchers.
Now, some historians say heencouraged Comanches to raid the
Mexican settlements just tokeep his trade flowing.
(03:20):
So who knows?
We may never know.
Now, by 1851, Leighton died ofyellow fever, leaving Juana, his
wife, to run it.
She remarried, and her secondhusband, Edward Hall, kept the
operation going until he wasmurdered in 1860 over a debt
issue.
The US Army briefly used it asan outpost in the 1860s during
(03:44):
border tensions, but it fellinto private hands again until
the state took it over in 1968.
Now, today it's a historic sitemanaged by the Texas Historical
Commission.
You can walk through therestored rooms, the living
quarters, a kitchen, even ablacksmith's shop, and see
artifacts like old wagons andtools.
(04:05):
It's a glimpse into the roughborder life of the mid-1800s.
Nearby Presidio's got the 14 DeLa Senega.
You know I'm gonna mess that up, it's just my accent.
It's a restored 1880s ranchhouse.
It's not a big draw, but itshows how settlers lived out
here in that rough West Texasland.
(04:27):
Next is site number two,Seminole Canyon State Park and
Historic Site near Comstock.
Comstock's about 30 milesnorthwest of Del Rio along the
Rio Grande River.
This place goes back thousandsof years.
Archaeologists dated the rockart there to be around 2000 BCE,
(04:48):
left by hunter-gatherer tribeswho roamed the lower Pecos
region.
The Fate Bell Shelter, a keyspot in the park, has some of
the best preserved pictographsin Texas.
Red, yellow, and black imagesof human figures, deer, and
abstract shapes painted onlimestone walls.
Experts think that these weretied to religious rituals or
(05:11):
hunting ceremonies.
Some drawings show shamans withantlers, others mark water
sources.
Now the tribes lived off smallgames and plants like prickly
pear, used, and I know I'm goingto mess this up at atlatls.
Those are those spear throwers.
(05:33):
You hold them in your hand, andyou sling it.
It's almost like a slingshotfor a spear, and that's before.
Bows got introduced later on,and they would use those things
and do their hunting.
Fast forward to the 1870s, andthe site got its modern name
from the Black Seminole Scouts,who were descendants of escaped
slaves and Seminole Indians outof Florida.
(05:54):
They served in the US Armytracking Apache and Comanche
raiders under leaders like JohnHorst, who fought in the
Seminole Wars.
The Army set up Camp Penanearby in 1882 to guard the
railroad, but it's gone now.
The park itself opened in 1980.
It protects a little over 2,100acres.
Now you can only see the rockart on a guided hike about a
(06:17):
mile each way, and it's prettyrocky terrain.
It takes an hour.
There are 10 miles of trailstotal, plus camping if you want
to stay.
Now here's a unique fact (06:25):
In 1984, archaeologists found a
9,500-year-old skeleton calledthe Leanderthal Lady, one of the
oldest human remains found inNorth America.
Nearby, about 40 miles away, isLangtree, where you've got
(06:48):
Judge Roy Bean's Vista Center.
It's an old 1880s saloon with afamous law west of the Pecos
Hill Court.
It's a quick detour if you'rein that area.
Next up we have site numberthree, Fort Lancaster State
Historic Site.
It's in Crockett County nearSheffield, which is about 60
miles east of Fort Stockton and10 miles from the Pecos River.
(07:08):
The US Army established it in1855 to protect settlers and
supply wagons on the SanAntonio-El Paso Road, a 600-mile
trail that was the main linkbetween East and West Texas back
then.
The fort was built withlimestone and adobe barracks, a
hospital, officers' quarters anda bakery.
(07:31):
It housed around 150 soldiersfrom the 1st Infantry Regiment.
Now they faced harsh conditionssummer heat, over 100 degrees,
scarce water and constantthreats from Comanche and Apache
tribes who saw the road as aninvasion.
On December 26, 1867, about 300Comanches attacked during the
(07:53):
supply run, killed threesoldiers, wounded 11, and burned
part of the fort.
It was one of the last bigraids in the area.
The army rebuilt but abandonedit in 1874 as the frontier moved
west.
By the 1880s locals werescavenging the stone for their
own homes.
The Texas Historical Commissiontook over in 1968, and today
(08:17):
it's mainly ruins stone chimneys, wall bases and a parade ground
overlooking a wide valley.
There's a two-mile trail toexplore it, plus a small museum
with artifacts like uniforms andcannonball.
A notable figure stoppedthrough there Robert E Lee.
He was a colonel in the UnionArmy before the Civil War.
(08:40):
He inspected the fort in 1856.
He called it the most cheerlesspost he had ever seen.
Nearby Ozona's got the CrockettCounty Museum, old ranch gear
and a 1900 jail about 35 milesaway.
Next up we have site number four, Fort Belknap, named after
(09:02):
Brigadier General William GBelknap.
It's near Newcastle.
It's about 100 miles west ofFort Worth, just off Highway 380
.
The US Army built it in 1851 toguard settlers moving into
Young County along the BrazosRiver frontier.
It was the northernmost fort ina line from the Rio Grande to
(09:24):
the Red River.
It started with log huts andtents, but later upgraded to
stone buildings, barracks, amagazine, even a two-story
headquarters.
Over 200 soldiers from the 5thInfantry were stationed here,
dealing with Comanche and Kiowaraids that hit hard in the 1850s
.
One attack in 1855 killed foursettlers just 10 miles away from
(09:49):
the fort.
During the Civil War,confederates took it over in
1861, but it was abandoned by1867 as the frontier shifted.
After that it became a ranchinghub.
Cattle baron Charles Goodnightstopped by in the 1870s while
driving herds up the GoodnightLoving Trail.
The state made it a historicsite in 1936, and locals
(10:10):
restored it over decades of work.
Today you can see eightoriginal buildings, limestone
walls still standing, plus amuseum with muskets, a cannon
and a 19th century chuck wagon.
It's run by the Fort BelknapSociety.
Another unique fact Robert E Leevisited here too.
(10:30):
He inspected it in 1856.
Something you may not knowabout Robert E Lee, he was going
around for the Union Armyinspecting a lot of bases.
He was an engineer and he hadto go through and inspect a lot
of places all throughout theSouth.
Nearby, the town of Graham hasa town square about 15 miles
(10:51):
east of there, but in the townsquare, the 1930s courthouse is
still standing, still in use,and it's worth a stop to take a
look at.
They got some nice shopping inthat town too, moving right
along on site number five.
They got some nice shopping inthat town too.
Moving right along on sitenumber five, Fort McAvitt State
Historic Site.
It's near Menard in West Texas,about 25 miles southwest of San
(11:11):
Angelo.
The Army set it up in 1852 toguard settlers along the San
Saba River and the road to ElPaso.
It started with tents and thengrew into a solid post with 40
limestone buildings, includingbarracks, a school, a bakery and
even a lime kiln forconstruction.
Over 400 soldiers lived here atits peak, including companies A
(11:35):
and H of the 8th Infantry.
After the Civil War.
From 1868 to 1883, it was abase for the famed Buffalo
Soldiers.
Those were the African-Americantroops of the 10th Cavalry who
patrolled against Comanche andApache troops in Apache raids.
Now, one notable event in 1871,a soldier named Emanuel Stance
(11:57):
earned the Medal of Honor forbravery in a skirmish near
Kickapoo Springs, 20 miles awaythe first black soldier in Texas
to be awarded such an honor.
The fort closed in 1883 as thefrontier settled and kind of
settled down.
Locals turned it into a smalltown until the 1920s.
(12:19):
The state took over in 1968.
Now it's got 25 restoredbuildings you can walk through
and check out, plus a two-miletrail.
And General William Shermanvisited here in 1871.
He called it one of theprettiest posts he'd ever seen
High praise from a tough old man.
Nearby is Presidio de San Saba,another old Spanish fort.
(12:43):
It's about 30 miles north ofthere.
Next up for site number six wehave the Presidio La Bahia.
It's in Goliad, 90 milessoutheast of San Antonio.
It started in 1721 as a Spanishfort near Matagorda Bay called
Presidio Nuestra Senora deLoreto to guard against French
(13:06):
expansion.
In 1749, they moved it to itscurrent spot on the San Antonio
River.
It's got limestone walls, achapel, a barracks for a hundred
soldiers.
It protected Mission EspirituSanto, which we'll talk about
next.
During the Texas Revolution itsaw major action.
(13:28):
In October of 1835, Texianrebels under James Fannin
captured it from Mexican forcesafter about a 30-minute fight.
First big win of the war.
But in March 1836, after losinga battle at Coleto Creek,
Fannin and 342 of his mensurrendered here on Palm Sunday,
(13:49):
March 27th Santa Ana, theMexican general, ordered them
executed, shot in groups outsidethe walls.
One of the darkest moments inTexas Revolution history.
Only 28 escaped.
The fort stayed active underMexico and then the US until
1865.
(14:10):
The Catholic Church bought itin 1853, and it's been a
historic site since 1967.
You can still see the chapel.
It's still used for mass.
There's an officer's quartersand a museum with artifacts like
musket balls and right outsidethe walls, all those men, Fannin
and his troops, well, they'reburied in a mass grave just on
(14:34):
the other side of the wall.
Next up we have site numberseven, which is the Mission
Nuestra Señora del EspirituSanto del Zuniga, long name.
It's right next to the La Bahiain Goliad Well, not right next,
it's maybe an eighth of a mileaway.
But it was founded in 1722 nearLavaca Bay to convert Karankwa
(14:59):
and Aranama tribes toChristianity and farming.
It moved twice, first in 1726and then in 1749 to Goliad,
where it sits today.
The mission had a stone church,workshops and fields where the
native converts grew corn andraised cattle.
By 1750, they managed over40,000 head, the biggest herd in
(15:23):
Texas.
At the time, priests likeFather Jose Calahorra, ran it
teaching Spanish and trades, butdiseases like smallpox cut the
population hard man.
Records show that only 200converts by 1770 were still
around.
It closed in 1830 as Mexicosecularized missions during the
(15:46):
revolution.
The Texians used it as abarracks before the massacre
occurred.
The state restored it in the1930s.
Civilian Conservation Corpsworkers rebuilt the church in
the granary, and today it's partof Goliad State Park.
You can see the chapel, smallmuseum with pottery and stuff in
it, and reconstructions of thenative huts.
(16:08):
Now, nearby, Goliad's downtownhas the 1894 courthouse, which
is a really cool lookingcourthouse, and sitting out in
front of the courthouse is theHanging Tree, been there for a
long, long time and locals willtell you that's where they used
to hang people after they werefound guilty at the courthouse.
(16:28):
Next up we have Site no 8, SanFelipe de Austin State Historic
Site, located in San Felipe, 50miles west of Houston.
And you know what?
I would venture to say thatwell over half of people who
live in Houston don't knowanything about this place.
They may have read about itwhen they were in school in
(16:48):
their history class somewhere,but they don't realize it's
sitting right outside the bigcity.
This was Stephen F Austin'scolony.
Started in 1823 under a Spanishland grant, he brought 300
families, called the Old 300, tosettle the Brazos River Valley.
(17:09):
It became the social andpolitical hub of Anglo Texas
with a town hall, stores, and anewspaper.
They called it the TexasGazette, first published in 1829
by Godwin Brown Cotton.
By 1835, it had 600 people andhosted early independence talks.
In March 1836, as the Santa AnaArmy closed in, Austin ordered
(17:34):
it burned to the ground to keepsupplies from the enemy.
Nothing left but ashes.
It rebuilt later, but it neverregained its former glory.
Now the state made it ahistoric site in 1940, and now
it's got log cabin replicas.
It's got a well, and a statueof Austin from 1992.
Sam Houston actually spokethere in 1833, pushing for a
(17:58):
separate Texas government, theseeds of the Texas Revolution.
Today it's quiet, got about 700residents.
When I stopped by there therewas one car sitting in the
parking lot that was visitingthe grounds.
But it was interesting, it wasnice, had a lot of stuff in the
little museum there, you couldsee the replicas of the
(18:19):
buildings, and it was thelocation where Texas began.
Next up we have site number nine, Fort Grogan Museum and Grounds
in Burnet, Burnet's, about 50miles northwest of Austin in the
hill country.
Now, the Army built this placein 1849, one of four forts to
guard settlers after Texasjoined the US in 1845.
(18:42):
It housed 50 soldiers from the2nd Dragoons Cavalry Unit living
in wooden cabins with ablacksmith shop and a powder
house.
They patrolled against Comancheraids along the Colorado River.
One skirmish in 1851 nearOatmeal Creek killed two
soldiers but stopped an attackon Burnet.
The fort closed in 1853 assettlers pushed west.
(19:04):
Locals used the buildings until1890s, when most just rotted
away.
In 1957, the Burnet CountyHistorical Society turned it
into a museum, restoring four ofthe structures, a cabin, a
schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop,and a barn.
Today you can see muskets,saddles, and a cannon.
Volunteers offer tours.
(19:26):
General George Custer actuallypassed through this place in
1871, inspecting frontier posts.
Nearby, Longhorn Cavern StatePark is 13 miles It has a 1930s
Civilian Conservation Corpsbuilt visitor center.
Next up we have site number 10,Casa Navarro State Historic Site
in San Antonio, Texas, a blockfrom Market Square and the Alamo
(19:50):
.
It's the 1850s home of JoseAntonio Navarro, a Tejano who
was born in 1795, who helpedshape Texas.
He fought for Mexicanindependence from Spain in 1813,
then signed the TexasDeclaration of Independence in
1836, one of only two Tejanos todo so.
(20:12):
Navarro served in theRepublic's Congress.
He wrote laws protecting Tejanoland rights and later joined
the Texas Senate.
After statehood, he built hisadobe house, three rooms, a
kitchen, and a courtyard, livingthere until his death in 1871.
His nephew kept it in thefamily until 1895.
(20:33):
The state bought it in 1959,and now it's a museum.
It holds his desks, books thathe owned, a 19th century loom,
and a bunch of other artifacts.
Now here's a unique fact,Navarro was at the 1845
annexation convention and helpedmake Texas into a state.
It's a small place but it showsthe Mexican-Texian mix that
(20:57):
built Texas, often missed in SanAntonio's mission hype.
Next up Fort Griffin, state'shistoric site near Albany, 40
miles northwest of Abilene, theArmy established it in 1867 to
protect settlers and cattledrives along the western trail
to Dodge City.
It had 200 soldiers from the4th Cavalry living in the
(21:18):
barracks, a guardhouse,officers' quarters, all wood and
stone.
The fort was a rough old place,though nearby, The Flat, a
boomtown, drew gamblers,prostitutes, and buffalo hunters
.
Fights were common.
In 1874, the 10th CavalryBuffalo Soldiers took over,
chasing Kiowa and Comancheraiders.
(21:38):
One big raid in 1871 near FortGriffin killed seven settlers.
The army tracked the attackers100 miles but lost them.
It closed in 1881.
Locals tore down most of thebuildings.
The state reopened it in 1935with ruins and a longhorn herd.
Descendants of CharlesGoodnight's cattle are still
(21:59):
there.
You can hike a three-mile trailand see a restored bakery.
A notable figure, GeneralRanald McKenzie, led troops here
during the Red River Campaign,before his assignment to
Wyoming, where he defeated theSioux in the Battle of the Red
Fork.
That was in the aftermath ofthe Little Bighorn.
Site number 12, EisenhowerBirthplace, that's right, the
(22:22):
Dwight D Eisenhower BirthplaceState Historic Site is in
Denison, Texas, 75 miles northof Dallas, near Oklahoma.
Dwight David Eisenhower, futuregeneral and president, was born
here on October 14, 1890 in atwo-room clapboard home,
although he spent most of histime in Abilene, Kansas, and
(22:42):
that is where his presidentialmuseum is located.
This is where he was born.
His father, David, worked forthe railroad.
His mother, Ida, raised sixboys lived in tight quarters.
The family lived here until1892, moving to Kansas when
Dwight was only two.
The house stayed private until1946, when locals preserved it
(23:03):
as a museum, after his World WarII fame.
The state took over in 1952 andnow, it's got original
furniture, a bed, a stove, and astatue of Ike in his general's
uniform.
It was added in 1978.
It's small, it's only about1,500 square foot, showing the
humble roots of a big man.
One unique fact Eisenhower isone of two Texas-born presidents
(23:27):
, the other being Lyndon BainesJohnson.
Nearby, Denison's Red RiverRailroad has old train cars, and
kind of ties into his dad's job.
It's an interesting sight tosee.
Number 13, Washington, on theBrazos State Historic Site.
It's in Washington, Texas, 80miles northwest of Houston.
(23:47):
This is where Texasindependence started.
On March 2, 1836, 59 delegatesmet in a log building and signed
the Declaration of Independencefrom Mexico.
The town was a ferry crossingon the Brazos River, founded in
1834 by a fellow named John Hall.
It grew into about a thousandpeople by 1837, a key republic
(24:12):
hub with a customs house and amilitia to guard it.
Sam Houston was sworn in aspresident here in 1836.
The Republic's constitution waswritten in that same old room.
It faded after 1846 when Austinbecame the capital, but the
state park opened in 1916 with areplica of Independence Hall.
(24:33):
One notable event 1836convention lasted 17 days,
hashing out a new nation underMexican attack.
The nearby town of Independenceis a fun stop.
It has the ruins of BaylorUniversity, the first university
in Texas.
That was before the institutionmoved to Waco.
Sam Houston's wife, MargaretLeah Houston, is also buried
(24:57):
there, and her home is stillstanding right there on the main
road.
Site number 14, The Star of theRepublic Museum, is also in
Washington.
It's right next door.
It's part of the same historicarea.
It was built in 1976 for the USBicentennial, and it's
dedicated to the Texas Republic,which existed from 1836 to 1846
(25:19):
.
The museum is shaped like apentagon with exhibits on two
floors.
It's got muskets from SanJacinto, Sam Houston's letters,
a Republic flag with one star,hence the name.
It covers daily life, cottonfarming, blacksmithing, and big
moments like the 1845 annexationvote.
The Daughters of the Republicof Texas run it.
(25:39):
They've got artifacts like an1830s printing press used for
early newspapers.
One unique detail is BarringtonPlantation is right next to the
museum.
Barrington Plantation is thehome of the last president of
the Republic of Texas, AnsonJones.
It's now a living museum withpeople doing daily work on the
(25:59):
farm and gardens and everydaylife, and they'll tell you about
what they're doing and howpeople lived back in the day.
When I stopped by, again theseare not well-known places to
most people.
So, unless they've got a schoolfunction going where there's a
bunch of school kids, you're notgoing to see a lot of people
there.
When I stopped by, I was theonly one there, along with a man
(26:22):
, his wife, and their smallchild.
Site number 15, Fanthorpe InnState Historic Site is in
Anderson.
Now Anderson is about 30 milessoutheast of College Station,
and it's only 17 miles fromWashington, which is where the
Star of the Texas Museum is, andWashington on the Brazos.
(26:43):
Henry Fanthorpe, an Englishman,built it in 1835 as a log home
and then expanded it into atwo-story inn.
By 1840s, it became astagecoach stop on the road from
Houston to Austin.
It had a post office, a tavern,and rooms for travelers.
By 1850, it served 200 people amonth.
(27:05):
During the Republic's years,Sam Houston stayed here many
times.
Records show him signing mailin 1837.
Fanthorpe died in 1867.
His family ran it until 1879when the railroad bypassed the
town.
The state bought it in 1977.
Now, it's restored withoriginal furniture, a desk, beds
(27:26):
, and stagecoach demos on someweekends.
It was one of the fewRepublic-era inns still standing
in the state.
Nearby Anderson's Courthousefrom the 1890s, this big old red
brick building it's stillactive.
And if you haven't done it,Texas courthouses in these small
Texas counties arearchitectural wonders.
They're not just plainbuildings.
(27:48):
There are people who actuallyjust go around to photograph and
visit the courthouses becauseof their architectural beauty.
We're moving right along here.
We're at site number 16 out of20.
And site number 16 is MonumentHill State Historic Site in
LaGrange, Texas, which is 70miles east of Austin.
(28:08):
Memorial to the 52 Texians,that's right Texians, who were
killed in 1842-1843 during theMier Expedition and Dawson
Massacres.
Now, that was a failed raid.
That was done in retaliationafter Mexico had raided San
Antonio.
In the Mier Expedition, 176 mensurrendered near the city of
(28:32):
Mier, Ciudad Mier.
Santa Ana ordered a decimationof them.
Seventeen executed afterdrawing black beans from a jar
of 159 white beans.
So you drew the bean, and ifyou got the black one, you were
executed.
Their bodies were buried herein 1848 under a 48-foot stone
(28:52):
obelisk.
The Dawson Group, 36 men, diedearlier, ambushed near San
Antonio.
The site overlooks the ColoradoRiver.
It's got trails and picnicspots.
One notable figure, CaptainNicholas Dawson, who led that
doomed fight, his name is on themarker.
Nearby.
LaGrange's Texas Czech Centerhas old immigrant tools tied to
(29:15):
the area's settlers.
And we're going to go right intosite number 17, which is the
Kreisch Brewery State HistoricSite in LaGrange.
It's right next to MonumentHill.
The Kreisch Brewery StateHistoric Site is just that it
was started by a fellow namedHeinrich Kreisch, a German
immigrant.
He built this in the 1860s.
(29:38):
He arrived in 1846.
He was a stonemason who wasfleeing Europe's unrest.
Texas has big German and Czechroots.
A lot of folks from Germany andthe Czech came here, and he was
no different.
Heinrich came here, and in 1860, he started brewing lager in
the hillside cellars near hisstone house, using spring water
and barley from his farm.
(29:59):
His Bluff Beer, as he called it, sold across Fayette County.
Records show 700 barrels a yearby 1870.
It was one of Texas's firstcommercial breweries.
Kreish died in 1882 after afall, and his family ran it
until 1884, when it shut down.
The state took over in 1977,and now you can see the brewery
(30:21):
ruins, a house, and thesmokehouse.
The stoneworks are still prettysolid.
One unique detail he built thebrewery over a natural spring,
which kept the beer cold,naturally.
Now, while you're there, besure to check out downtown
LaGrange, they have a greatmuseum that's housed in the old
jail.
It's a really cool littlemuseum.
(30:42):
Site 18, Fort Davis NationalHistoric Site, 200 miles
southeast of El Paso.
The Army founded it in 1854.
The Guard of San Antonio ElPaso rode through the Davis
Mountains, which were named forJefferson Davis, who was then
the US Secretary of War.
It started with wood hutsrebuilt by stone.
In the 1860s barracks had ahospital.
(31:03):
100 buildings total.
Now, over 400 soldiers servedhere, including the 9th Cavalry
Buffalo Soldiers after 1867.
They were sent there to patrolagainst Apache and Comanche
raids.
In 1875, Colonel BenjaminGrierson led a campaign from
here where he chased Apachechief Victoria or Victorio.
(31:23):
He was chief of the WarmSprings Band of the Chihinde
Division of Central Apaches.
He chased that fella 600 miles.
Never did catch him.
While Geronimo is morewell-known, Victorio is
considered a more skilledwarrior and diplomat, and he led
a much larger force.
Now, the fort closed in 1891.
National Park Service took itover in 1961, and now it's got
(31:47):
20 restored buildings, afive-mile trail.
They do bugle calls on theweekends.
Nearby, The McDonnellObservatory is 20 miles away.
They have star parties withhuge telescopes.
It's one of the best places toview the stars and the planets.
You ought to check this placeout if you're ever in the area.
Next up we have number 19, the1940s Air Terminal in Houston,
(32:11):
Texas.
It's part of the William HobbyAirport system.
Now I visited here severalyears ago, but not even many
Houstonians are aware of thislittle gem sitting there near
downtown Houston.
It opened in 1940 as theHouston Municipal Airport.
It's in an Art Deco building,three stories, curved lined
(32:32):
terrazo floors.
The building itself wasdesigned by a fellow named
Joseph Finger.
Now it handled 141,000passengers by 1948.
And you're thinking well, thatdoesn't sound like a whole lot.
But you got to remember in the1940s not that many people flew
on aircraft.
Aircraft travel was a luxury.
(32:53):
They'd had airlines likeBraniff and Eastern flying DC-3s
out of this place.
During World War II it trainedpilots for the Army Air Corps.
In 1943, over a thousand cadetspassed through there.
The terminal closed forcommercial use in 1954 when
Hobby's new building opened.
But it's been a museum since1998.
(33:15):
It's run by the 1940s AirTerminal Museum foundation.
You can see all kinds of stuffthere, old flight gear, a 1940s
ticket counter, photos ofHouston's early days, and
several old planes.
One notable figure passedthrough here, a fellow by the
name of Howard Hughes landedhere in 1947.
He was testing out a newairplane.
(33:36):
It's right by the modernairport, which is still active,
although it's a lot less airtravel goes through here versus
George Bush Airport, Houston'sbig one.
But the 1940s Air Terminal is ablast from the past.
It's well worth visiting andvery few people ever go there.
All right, number 20.
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Out of our list of 20, we haveCamp Hearn.
Camp Hearne is 12 milesnorthwest of Bryan College
Station.
Camp Hearne was a World War IIprisoner of war camp built in
1942 to hold 4,800 Germanprisoners, that were captured in
(34:18):
North Africa, mostly Rommel'sAfrika Korps.
People don't realize that inWorld War II Texas had about 50
prisoner of war camps, somepermanent and some temporary.
This one, Camp Hearne, from1943 to 1946, housed up to 5,000
men.
Mostly worked on local farmsunder guard, you know, farming
(34:41):
cotton and peanuts and such.
Some were hardcore Nazis,others were just soldiers.
128 escaped Camp Hearne, butall were recaptured.
The camp closed in 1946.
Most of the buildings were torndown, but one barracks and one
foundation remain.
A museum opened in 1997 withdiaries, a model camp, and a
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guard tower replica.
Prisoners built a fountain,which is still there, and it's a
unique glimpse and a little bitof World War II history.
Now, nearby, Hearnes RailroadDepot from 1901 is a small
little museum.
It's worth checking out as well.
So that's 20.
Twenty overlooked and littleknown historic places in Texas.
(35:25):
Ah, but wait, I got a bonus foryou.
Here's the bonus place FortChadbourne, north of San Angelo,
just 12 miles out of Bront,Texas.
It's on US Highway 277.
Fort Chadbourne was establishedin 1852 by the United States
Army.
It was one of a string offrontier forts built to protect
settlers moving west along theSan Antonio-El Paso Road, named
(35:49):
after Lieutenant TheodoreLincoln Chadbourne, who died in
the Mexican War.
It housed troops like the 8thInfantry and later the Buffalo
Soldiers guarded againstComanche raids.
From 1858 to 1861, it was astop on the Butterfield-Overland
mail route, think stagecoachesrumbling through.
The fort surrendered to theConfederates in 1861.
(36:11):
It was reoccupied after theCivil War and shut down in 1867
when the water ran low.
Today, the Richards family,who've owned it for eight
generations, restored it withabsolutely no government money,
just grit and hard work.
You can visit the stabilizedruins, a 12,500 square foot
(36:32):
museum, and see artifacts likeold firearms and a stagecoach.
I mean, it's a real piece ofTexas history off the beaten
path.
So that's it, I promise.
That's all 20 plus a bonus.
Overlooked spots, from Texasfrontier forts to its World War
II camps, there are a lot moreplaces like this in Texas that
are often overlooked or peoplejust don't know about.
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They're not the loudest names,but they've got stories,
prehistoric cave paintings,Texians fighting for
independence, soldiers holdingthe line, and everyday people
just shaping the state.
If you're into history, theseare worth a visit.
No big crowds, just the realthing.
You can check outTheTravellingFool.
com for more, or tell me yourown finds.
(37:14):
I might use them next time.
If you like this, I'dappreciate it if you leave a
review, and until next time,safe travels.
Thank you.
Hi, and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show
where we explore the mostintriguing aspects of travel,
culture, and history.
I'm your host, Bob Bales, andtoday we are covering 20
historic sites in Texas that areoften overlooked.
These aren't the big names likeThe Alamo or San Jacinto that
draw big crowds.
These are quieter spots, forts,missions, homes, battlegrounds,
the Alamo or San Jacinto thatdraw crowds.
These tell just as much aboutTexas's past, if not more.
(00:27):
I've visited most myself.
I've talked to locals andhistorians about others and put
together a list that's worthyour time.
If you're into history andtravel, I'll give you the
history on each place, someunique facts, notable people who
were there and a fewinteresting things nearby today.
So stay tuned.
(01:08):
Texas is a big state with a hugehistory Native tribes going
back thousands of years, Spanishsettlers in the 1700s, the
fight for independence in the1830s, the Civil War and the
growth after that.
The famous sites get all thevisitors, but these 20 are
different.
They're spread across the state, from the deserts of West Texas
(01:30):
to the Gulf Coast, and theyshow parts of the past that
don't always make it into theguidebooks.
Some are ruins from thefrontier days.
Some are preserved homes fromkey figures, others are
battlefields or old militaryposts that shaped what Texas
became.
They're not crowded, they don'thave big tourist setups, just
real history waiting for you toexplore, and I would bet a lot
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of Texans don't even know aboutsome of these.
I'll start out west and work myway across the state.
Now here's the first one.
Fort Leighton State HistoricSite in Presidio.
Now it's located in theChihuahuan Desert in far west
Texas, about four miles from theMexican border and 20 miles
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southeast of Big Bend NationalPark.
This site dates to 1848, whenBenjamin Leighton, a trader from
New Orleans, built it as aprivate trading post along the
Chihuahua Trail, a major routelinking San Antonio to Chihuahua
Mexico, used since the Spanishcolonial days.
Now, Leighton was a toughcharacter.
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Born in 1819 in Alabama, he hadworked as a scalp hunter in
Mexico, hired to fight Apacheraids, before settling here with
his wife.
His wife, Juana Pedraza, camefrom a prominent Mexican family,
and he constructed this massiveadobe fort covering over an
acre, with 40 rooms around acentral courtyard, thick walls
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up to three feet wide, and afortified entrance.
It wasn't just a home, it washis business hub, where he
traded goods like guns, whiskey,and blankets with the tribes,
Mexican merchants, and localranchers.
Now, some historians say heencouraged Comanches to raid the
Mexican settlements just tokeep his trade flowing.
(03:20):
So who knows?
We may never know.
Now, by 1851, Leighton died ofyellow fever, leaving Juana, his
wife, to run it.
She remarried, and her secondhusband, Edward Hall, kept the
operation going until he wasmurdered in 1860 over a debt
issue.
The US Army briefly used it asan outpost in the 1860s during
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border tensions, but it fellinto private hands again until
the state took it over in 1968.
Now, today it's a historic sitemanaged by the Texas Historical
Commission.
You can walk through therestored rooms, the living
quarters, a kitchen, even ablacksmith's shop, and see
artifacts like old wagons andtools.
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It's a glimpse into the roughborder life of the mid-1800s.
Nearby Presidio's got the 14 DeLa Senega.
You know I'm gonna mess that up, it's just my accent.
It's a restored 1880s ranchhouse.
It's not a big draw, but itshows how settlers lived out
here in that rough West Texasland.
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Next is site number two,Seminole Canyon State Park and
Historic Site near Comstock.
Comstock's about 30 milesnorthwest of Del Rio along the
Rio Grande River.
This place goes back thousandsof years.
Archaeologists dated the rockart there to be around 2000 BCE,
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left by hunter-gatherer tribeswho roamed the lower Pecos
region.
The Fate Bell Shelter, a keyspot in the park, has some of
the best preserved pictographsin Texas.
Red, yellow, and black imagesof human figures, deer, and
abstract shapes painted onlimestone walls.
Experts think that these weretied to religious rituals or
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hunting ceremonies.
Some drawings show shamans withantlers, others mark water
sources.
Now the tribes lived off smallgames and plants like prickly
pear, used, and I know I'm goingto mess this up at atlatls.
Those are those spear throwers.
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You hold them in your hand, andyou sling it.
It's almost like a slingshotfor a spear, and that's before.
Bows got introduced later on,and they would use those things
and do their hunting.
Fast forward to the 1870s, andthe site got its modern name
from the Black Seminole Scouts,who were descendants of escaped
slaves and Seminole Indians outof Florida.
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They served in the US Armytracking Apache and Comanche
raiders under leaders like JohnHorst, who fought in the
Seminole Wars.
The Army set up Camp Penanearby in 1882 to guard the
railroad, but it's gone now.
The park itself opened in 1980.
It protects a little over 2,100acres.
Now you can only see the rockart on a guided hike about a
(06:17):
mile each way, and it's prettyrocky terrain.
It takes an hour.
There are 10 miles of trailstotal, plus camping if you want
to stay.
Now here's a unique fact (06:25):
In 1984, archaeologists found a
9,500-year-old skeleton calledthe Leanderthal Lady, one of the
oldest human remains found inNorth America.
Nearby, about 40 miles away, isLangtree, where you've got
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Judge Roy Bean's Vista Center.
It's an old 1880s saloon with afamous law west of the Pecos
Hill Court.
It's a quick detour if you'rein that area.
Next up we have site numberthree, Fort Lancaster State
Historic Site.
It's in Crockett County nearSheffield, which is about 60
miles east of Fort Stockton and10 miles from the Pecos River.
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The US Army established it in1855 to protect settlers and
supply wagons on the SanAntonio-El Paso Road, a 600-mile
trail that was the main linkbetween East and West Texas back
then.
The fort was built withlimestone and adobe barracks, a
hospital, officers' quarters anda bakery.
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It housed around 150 soldiersfrom the 1st Infantry Regiment.
Now they faced harsh conditionssummer heat, over 100 degrees,
scarce water and constantthreats from Comanche and Apache
tribes who saw the road as aninvasion.
On December 26, 1867, about 300Comanches attacked during the
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supply run, killed threesoldiers, wounded 11, and burned
part of the fort.
It was one of the last bigraids in the area.
The army rebuilt but abandonedit in 1874 as the frontier moved
west.
By the 1880s locals werescavenging the stone for their
own homes.
The Texas Historical Commissiontook over in 1968, and today
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it's mainly ruins stone chimneys, wall bases and a parade ground
overlooking a wide valley.
There's a two-mile trail toexplore it, plus a small museum
with artifacts like uniforms andcannonball.
A notable figure stoppedthrough there Robert E Lee.
He was a colonel in the UnionArmy before the Civil War.
(08:40):
He inspected the fort in 1856.
He called it the most cheerlesspost he had ever seen.
Nearby Ozona's got the CrockettCounty Museum, old ranch gear
and a 1900 jail about 35 milesaway.
Next up we have site number four, Fort Belknap, named after
(09:02):
Brigadier General William GBelknap.
It's near Newcastle.
It's about 100 miles west ofFort Worth, just off Highway 380
.
The US Army built it in 1851 toguard settlers moving into
Young County along the BrazosRiver frontier.
It was the northernmost fort ina line from the Rio Grande to
(09:24):
the Red River.
It started with log huts andtents, but later upgraded to
stone buildings, barracks, amagazine, even a two-story
headquarters.
Over 200 soldiers from the 5thInfantry were stationed here,
dealing with Comanche and Kiowaraids that hit hard in the 1850s
.
One attack in 1855 killed foursettlers just 10 miles away from
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the fort.
During the Civil War,confederates took it over in
1861, but it was abandoned by1867 as the frontier shifted.
After that it became a ranchinghub.
Cattle baron Charles Goodnightstopped by in the 1870s while
driving herds up the GoodnightLoving Trail.
The state made it a historicsite in 1936, and locals
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restored it over decades of work.
Today you can see eightoriginal buildings, limestone
walls still standing, plus amuseum with muskets, a cannon
and a 19th century chuck wagon.
It's run by the Fort BelknapSociety.
Another unique fact Robert E Leevisited here too.
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He inspected it in 1856.
Something you may not knowabout Robert E Lee, he was going
around for the Union Armyinspecting a lot of bases.
He was an engineer and he hadto go through and inspect a lot
of places all throughout theSouth.
Nearby, the town of Graham hasa town square about 15 miles
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east of there, but in the townsquare, the 1930s courthouse is
still standing, still in use,and it's worth a stop to take a
look at.
They got some nice shopping inthat town too, moving right
along on site number five.
They got some nice shopping inthat town too.
Moving right along on sitenumber five, Fort McAvitt State
Historic Site.
It's near Menard in West Texas,about 25 miles southwest of San
(11:11):
Angelo.
The Army set it up in 1852 toguard settlers along the San
Saba River and the road to ElPaso.
It started with tents and thengrew into a solid post with 40
limestone buildings, includingbarracks, a school, a bakery and
even a lime kiln forconstruction.
Over 400 soldiers lived here atits peak, including companies A
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and H of the 8th Infantry.
After the Civil War.
From 1868 to 1883, it was abase for the famed Buffalo
Soldiers.
Those were the African-Americantroops of the 10th Cavalry who
patrolled against Comanche andApache troops in Apache raids.
Now, one notable event in 1871,a soldier named Emanuel Stance
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earned the Medal of Honor forbravery in a skirmish near
Kickapoo Springs, 20 miles awaythe first black soldier in Texas
to be awarded such an honor.
The fort closed in 1883 as thefrontier settled and kind of
settled down.
Locals turned it into a smalltown until the 1920s.
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The state took over in 1968.
Now it's got 25 restoredbuildings you can walk through
and check out, plus a two-miletrail.
And General William Shermanvisited here in 1871.
He called it one of theprettiest posts he'd ever seen
High praise from a tough old man.
Nearby is Presidio de San Saba,another old Spanish fort.
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It's about 30 miles north ofthere.
Next up for site number six wehave the Presidio La Bahia.
It's in Goliad, 90 milessoutheast of San Antonio.
It started in 1721 as a Spanishfort near Matagorda Bay called
Presidio Nuestra Senora deLoreto to guard against French
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expansion.
In 1749, they moved it to itscurrent spot on the San Antonio
River.
It's got limestone walls, achapel, a barracks for a hundred
soldiers.
It protected Mission EspirituSanto, which we'll talk about
next.
During the Texas Revolution itsaw major action.
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In October of 1835, Texianrebels under James Fannin
captured it from Mexican forcesafter about a 30-minute fight.
First big win of the war.
But in March 1836, after losinga battle at Coleto Creek,
Fannin and 342 of his mensurrendered here on Palm Sunday,
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March 27th Santa Ana, theMexican general, ordered them
executed, shot in groups outsidethe walls.
One of the darkest moments inTexas Revolution history.
Only 28 escaped.
The fort stayed active underMexico and then the US until
1865.
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The Catholic Church bought itin 1853, and it's been a
historic site since 1967.
You can still see the chapel.
It's still used for mass.
There's an officer's quartersand a museum with artifacts like
musket balls and right outsidethe walls, all those men, Fannin
and his troops, well, they'reburied in a mass grave just on
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the other side of the wall.
Next up we have site numberseven, which is the Mission
Nuestra Señora del EspirituSanto del Zuniga, long name.
It's right next to the La Bahiain Goliad Well, not right next,
it's maybe an eighth of a mileaway.
But it was founded in 1722 nearLavaca Bay to convert Karankwa
(14:59):
and Aranama tribes toChristianity and farming.
It moved twice, first in 1726and then in 1749 to Goliad,
where it sits today.
The mission had a stone church,workshops and fields where the
native converts grew corn andraised cattle.
By 1750, they managed over40,000 head, the biggest herd in
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Texas.
At the time, priests likeFather Jose Calahorra, ran it
teaching Spanish and trades, butdiseases like smallpox cut the
population hard man.
Records show that only 200converts by 1770 were still
around.
It closed in 1830 as Mexicosecularized missions during the
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revolution.
The Texians used it as abarracks before the massacre
occurred.
The state restored it in the1930s.
Civilian Conservation Corpsworkers rebuilt the church in
the granary, and today it's partof Goliad State Park.
You can see the chapel, smallmuseum with pottery and stuff in
it, and reconstructions of thenative huts.
(16:08):
Now, nearby, Goliad's downtownhas the 1894 courthouse, which
is a really cool lookingcourthouse, and sitting out in
front of the courthouse is theHanging Tree, been there for a
long, long time and locals willtell you that's where they used
to hang people after they werefound guilty at the courthouse.
(16:28):
Next up we have Site no 8, SanFelipe de Austin State Historic
Site, located in San Felipe, 50miles west of Houston.
And you know what?
I would venture to say thatwell over half of people who
live in Houston don't knowanything about this place.
They may have read about itwhen they were in school in
(16:48):
their history class somewhere,but they don't realize it's
sitting right outside the bigcity.
This was Stephen F Austin'scolony.
Started in 1823 under a Spanishland grant, he brought 300
families, called the Old 300, tosettle the Brazos River Valley.
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It became the social andpolitical hub of Anglo Texas
with a town hall, stores, and anewspaper.
They called it the TexasGazette, first published in 1829
by Godwin Brown Cotton.
By 1835, it had 600 people andhosted early independence talks.
In March 1836, as the Santa AnaArmy closed in, Austin ordered
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it burned to the ground to keepsupplies from the enemy.
Nothing left but ashes.
It rebuilt later, but it neverregained its former glory.
Now the state made it ahistoric site in 1940, and now
it's got log cabin replicas.
It's got a well, and a statueof Austin from 1992.
Sam Houston actually spokethere in 1833, pushing for a
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separate Texas government, theseeds of the Texas Revolution.
Today it's quiet, got about 700residents.
When I stopped by there therewas one car sitting in the
parking lot that was visitingthe grounds.
But it was interesting, it wasnice, had a lot of stuff in the
little museum there, you couldsee the replicas of the
(18:19):
buildings, and it was thelocation where Texas began.
Next up we have site number nine, Fort Grogan Museum and Grounds
in Burnet, Burnet's, about 50miles northwest of Austin in the
hill country.
Now, the Army built this placein 1849, one of four forts to
guard settlers after Texasjoined the US in 1845.
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It housed 50 soldiers from the2nd Dragoons Cavalry Unit living
in wooden cabins with ablacksmith shop and a powder
house.
They patrolled against Comancheraids along the Colorado River.
One skirmish in 1851 nearOatmeal Creek killed two
soldiers but stopped an attackon Burnet.
The fort closed in 1853 assettlers pushed west.
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Locals used the buildings until1890s, when most just rotted
away.
In 1957, the Burnet CountyHistorical Society turned it
into a museum, restoring four ofthe structures, a cabin, a
schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop,and a barn.
Today you can see muskets,saddles, and a cannon.
Volunteers offer tours.
(19:26):
General George Custer actuallypassed through this place in
1871, inspecting frontier posts.
Nearby, Longhorn Cavern StatePark is 13 miles It has a 1930s
Civilian Conservation Corpsbuilt visitor center.
Next up we have site number 10,Casa Navarro State Historic Site
in San Antonio, Texas, a blockfrom Market Square and the Alamo
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.
It's the 1850s home of JoseAntonio Navarro, a Tejano who
was born in 1795, who helpedshape Texas.
He fought for Mexicanindependence from Spain in 1813,
then signed the TexasDeclaration of Independence in
1836, one of only two Tejanos todo so.
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Navarro served in theRepublic's Congress.
He wrote laws protecting Tejanoland rights and later joined
the Texas Senate.
After statehood, he built hisadobe house, three rooms, a
kitchen, and a courtyard, livingthere until his death in 1871.
His nephew kept it in thefamily until 1895.
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The state bought it in 1959,and now it's a museum.
It holds his desks, books thathe owned, a 19th century loom,
and a bunch of other artifacts.
Now here's a unique fact,Navarro was at the 1845
annexation convention and helpedmake Texas into a state.
It's a small place but it showsthe Mexican-Texian mix that
(20:57):
built Texas, often missed in SanAntonio's mission hype.
Next up Fort Griffin, state'shistoric site near Albany, 40
miles northwest of Abilene, theArmy established it in 1867 to
protect settlers and cattledrives along the western trail
to Dodge City.
It had 200 soldiers from the4th Cavalry living in the
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barracks, a guardhouse,officers' quarters, all wood and
stone.
The fort was a rough old place,though nearby, The Flat, a
boomtown, drew gamblers,prostitutes, and buffalo hunters
.
Fights were common.
In 1874, the 10th CavalryBuffalo Soldiers took over,
chasing Kiowa and Comancheraiders.
(21:38):
One big raid in 1871 near FortGriffin killed seven settlers.
The army tracked the attackers100 miles but lost them.
It closed in 1881.
Locals tore down most of thebuildings.
The state reopened it in 1935with ruins and a longhorn herd.
Descendants of CharlesGoodnight's cattle are still
(21:59):
there.
You can hike a three-mile trailand see a restored bakery.
A notable figure, GeneralRanald McKenzie, led troops here
during the Red River Campaign,before his assignment to
Wyoming, where he defeated theSioux in the Battle of the Red
Fork.
That was in the aftermath ofthe Little Bighorn.
Site number 12, EisenhowerBirthplace, that's right, the
(22:22):
Dwight D Eisenhower BirthplaceState Historic Site is in
Denison, Texas, 75 miles northof Dallas, near Oklahoma.
Dwight David Eisenhower, futuregeneral and president, was born
here on October 14, 1890 in atwo-room clapboard home,
although he spent most of histime in Abilene, Kansas, and
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that is where his presidentialmuseum is located.
This is where he was born.
His father, David, worked forthe railroad.
His mother, Ida, raised sixboys lived in tight quarters.
The family lived here until1892, moving to Kansas when
Dwight was only two.
The house stayed private until1946, when locals preserved it
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as a museum, after his World WarII fame.
The state took over in 1952 andnow, it's got original
furniture, a bed, a stove, and astatue of Ike in his general's
uniform.
It was added in 1978.
It's small, it's only about1,500 square foot, showing the
humble roots of a big man.
One unique fact Eisenhower isone of two Texas-born presidents
(23:27):
, the other being Lyndon BainesJohnson.
Nearby, Denison's Red RiverRailroad has old train cars, and
kind of ties into his dad's job.
It's an interesting sight tosee.
Number 13, Washington, on theBrazos State Historic Site.
It's in Washington, Texas, 80miles northwest of Houston.
(23:47):
This is where Texasindependence started.
On March 2, 1836, 59 delegatesmet in a log building and signed
the Declaration of Independencefrom Mexico.
The town was a ferry crossingon the Brazos River, founded in
1834 by a fellow named John Hall.
It grew into about a thousandpeople by 1837, a key republic
(24:12):
hub with a customs house and amilitia to guard it.
Sam Houston was sworn in aspresident here in 1836.
The Republic's constitution waswritten in that same old room.
It faded after 1846 when Austinbecame the capital, but the
state park opened in 1916 with areplica of Independence Hall.
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One notable event 1836convention lasted 17 days,
hashing out a new nation underMexican attack.
The nearby town of Independenceis a fun stop.
It has the ruins of BaylorUniversity, the first university
in Texas.
That was before the institutionmoved to Waco.
Sam Houston's wife, MargaretLeah Houston, is also buried
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there, and her home is stillstanding right there on the main
road.
Site number 14, The Star of theRepublic Museum, is also in
Washington.
It's right next door.
It's part of the same historicarea.
It was built in 1976 for the USBicentennial, and it's
dedicated to the Texas Republic,which existed from 1836 to 1846
(25:19):
.
The museum is shaped like apentagon with exhibits on two
floors.
It's got muskets from SanJacinto, Sam Houston's letters,
a Republic flag with one star,hence the name.
It covers daily life, cottonfarming, blacksmithing, and big
moments like the 1845 annexationvote.
The Daughters of the Republicof Texas run it.
(25:39):
They've got artifacts like an1830s printing press used for
early newspapers.
One unique detail is BarringtonPlantation is right next to the
museum.
Barrington Plantation is thehome of the last president of
the Republic of Texas, AnsonJones.
It's now a living museum withpeople doing daily work on the
(25:59):
farm and gardens and everydaylife, and they'll tell you about
what they're doing and howpeople lived back in the day.
When I stopped by, again theseare not well-known places to
most people.
So, unless they've got a schoolfunction going where there's a
bunch of school kids, you're notgoing to see a lot of people
there.
When I stopped by, I was theonly one there, along with a man
(26:22):
, his wife, and their smallchild.
Site number 15, Fanthorpe InnState Historic Site is in
Anderson.
Now Anderson is about 30 milessoutheast of College Station,
and it's only 17 miles fromWashington, which is where the
Star of the Texas Museum is, andWashington on the Brazos.
(26:43):
Henry Fanthorpe, an Englishman,built it in 1835 as a log home
and then expanded it into atwo-story inn.
By 1840s, it became astagecoach stop on the road from
Houston to Austin.
It had a post office, a tavern,and rooms for travelers.
By 1850, it served 200 people amonth.
(27:05):
During the Republic's years,Sam Houston stayed here many
times.
Records show him signing mailin 1837.
Fanthorpe died in 1867.
His family ran it until 1879when the railroad bypassed the
town.
The state bought it in 1977.
Now, it's restored withoriginal furniture, a desk, beds
(27:26):
, and stagecoach demos on someweekends.
It was one of the fewRepublic-era inns still standing
in the state.
Nearby Anderson's Courthousefrom the 1890s, this big old red
brick building it's stillactive.
And if you haven't done it,Texas courthouses in these small
Texas counties arearchitectural wonders.
They're not just plainbuildings.
(27:48):
There are people who actuallyjust go around to photograph and
visit the courthouses becauseof their architectural beauty.
We're moving right along here.
We're at site number 16 out of20.
And site number 16 is MonumentHill State Historic Site in
LaGrange, Texas, which is 70miles east of Austin.
(28:08):
Memorial to the 52 Texians,that's right Texians, who were
killed in 1842-1843 during theMier Expedition and Dawson
Massacres.
Now, that was a failed raid.
That was done in retaliationafter Mexico had raided San
Antonio.
In the Mier Expedition, 176 mensurrendered near the city of
(28:32):
Mier, Ciudad Mier.
Santa Ana ordered a decimationof them.
Seventeen executed afterdrawing black beans from a jar
of 159 white beans.
So you drew the bean, and ifyou got the black one, you were
executed.
Their bodies were buried herein 1848 under a 48-foot stone
(28:52):
obelisk.
The Dawson Group, 36 men, diedearlier, ambushed near San
Antonio.
The site overlooks the ColoradoRiver.
It's got trails and picnicspots.
One notable figure, CaptainNicholas Dawson, who led that
doomed fight, his name is on themarker.
Nearby.
LaGrange's Texas Czech Centerhas old immigrant tools tied to
(29:15):
the area's settlers.
And we're going to go right intosite number 17, which is the
Kreisch Brewery State HistoricSite in LaGrange.
It's right next to MonumentHill.
The Kreisch Brewery StateHistoric Site is just that it
was started by a fellow namedHeinrich Kreisch, a German
immigrant.
He built this in the 1860s.
(29:38):
He arrived in 1846.
He was a stonemason who wasfleeing Europe's unrest.
Texas has big German and Czechroots.
A lot of folks from Germany andthe Czech came here, and he was
no different.
Heinrich came here, and in 1860, he started brewing lager in
the hillside cellars near hisstone house, using spring water
and barley from his farm.
(29:59):
His Bluff Beer, as he called it, sold across Fayette County.
Records show 700 barrels a yearby 1870.
It was one of Texas's firstcommercial breweries.
Kreish died in 1882 after afall, and his family ran it
until 1884, when it shut down.
The state took over in 1977,and now you can see the brewery
(30:21):
ruins, a house, and thesmokehouse.
The stoneworks are still prettysolid.
One unique detail he built thebrewery over a natural spring,
which kept the beer cold,naturally.
Now, while you're there, besure to check out downtown
LaGrange, they have a greatmuseum that's housed in the old
jail.
It's a really cool littlemuseum.
(30:42):
Site 18, Fort Davis NationalHistoric Site, 200 miles
southeast of El Paso.
The Army founded it in 1854.
The Guard of San Antonio ElPaso rode through the Davis
Mountains, which were named forJefferson Davis, who was then
the US Secretary of War.
It started with wood hutsrebuilt by stone.
In the 1860s barracks had ahospital.
(31:03):
100 buildings total.
Now, over 400 soldiers servedhere, including the 9th Cavalry
Buffalo Soldiers after 1867.
They were sent there to patrolagainst Apache and Comanche
raids.
In 1875, Colonel BenjaminGrierson led a campaign from
here where he chased Apachechief Victoria or Victorio.
(31:23):
He was chief of the WarmSprings Band of the Chihinde
Division of Central Apaches.
He chased that fella 600 miles.
Never did catch him.
While Geronimo is morewell-known, Victorio is
considered a more skilledwarrior and diplomat, and he led
a much larger force.
Now, the fort closed in 1891.
National Park Service took itover in 1961, and now it's got
(31:47):
20 restored buildings, afive-mile trail.
They do bugle calls on theweekends.
Nearby, The McDonnellObservatory is 20 miles away.
They have star parties withhuge telescopes.
It's one of the best places toview the stars and the planets.
You ought to check this placeout if you're ever in the area.
Next up we have number 19, the1940s Air Terminal in Houston,
(32:11):
Texas.
It's part of the William HobbyAirport system.
Now I visited here severalyears ago, but not even many
Houstonians are aware of thislittle gem sitting there near
downtown Houston.
It opened in 1940 as theHouston Municipal Airport.
It's in an Art Deco building,three stories, curved lined
(32:32):
terrazo floors.
The building itself wasdesigned by a fellow named
Joseph Finger.
Now it handled 141,000passengers by 1948.
And you're thinking well, thatdoesn't sound like a whole lot.
But you got to remember in the1940s not that many people flew
on aircraft.
Aircraft travel was a luxury.
(32:53):
They'd had airlines likeBraniff and Eastern flying DC-3s
out of this place.
During World War II it trainedpilots for the Army Air Corps.
In 1943, over a thousand cadetspassed through there.
The terminal closed forcommercial use in 1954 when
Hobby's new building opened.
But it's been a museum since1998.
(33:15):
It's run by the 1940s AirTerminal Museum foundation.
You can see all kinds of stuffthere, old flight gear, a 1940s
ticket counter, photos ofHouston's early days, and
several old planes.
One notable figure passedthrough here, a fellow by the
name of Howard Hughes landedhere in 1947.
He was testing out a newairplane.
(33:36):
It's right by the modernairport, which is still active,
although it's a lot less airtravel goes through here versus
George Bush Airport, Houston'sbig one.
But the 1940s Air Terminal is ablast from the past.
It's well worth visiting andvery few people ever go there.
All right, number 20.
(33:58):
Out of our list of 20, we haveCamp Hearn.
Camp Hearne is 12 milesnorthwest of Bryan College
Station.
Camp Hearne was a World War IIprisoner of war camp built in
1942 to hold 4,800 Germanprisoners, that were captured in
(34:18):
North Africa, mostly Rommel'sAfrika Korps.
People don't realize that inWorld War II Texas had about 50
prisoner of war camps, somepermanent and some temporary.
This one, Camp Hearne, from1943 to 1946, housed up to 5,000
men.
Mostly worked on local farmsunder guard, you know, farming
(34:41):
cotton and peanuts and such.
Some were hardcore Nazis,others were just soldiers.
128 escaped Camp Hearne, butall were recaptured.
The camp closed in 1946.
Most of the buildings were torndown, but one barracks and one
foundation remain.
A museum opened in 1997 withdiaries, a model camp, and a
(35:04):
guard tower replica.
Prisoners built a fountain,which is still there, and it's a
unique glimpse and a little bitof World War II history.
Now, nearby, Hearnes RailroadDepot from 1901 is a small
little museum.
It's worth checking out as well.
So that's 20.
Twenty overlooked and littleknown historic places in Texas.
(35:25):
Ah, but wait, I got a bonus foryou.
Here's the bonus place FortChadbourne, north of San Angelo,
just 12 miles out of Bront,Texas.
It's on US Highway 277.
Fort Chadbourne was establishedin 1852 by the United States
Army.
It was one of a string offrontier forts built to protect
settlers moving west along theSan Antonio-El Paso Road, named
(35:49):
after Lieutenant TheodoreLincoln Chadbourne, who died in
the Mexican War.
It housed troops like the 8thInfantry and later the Buffalo
Soldiers guarded againstComanche raids.
From 1858 to 1861, it was astop on the Butterfield-Overland
mail route, think stagecoachesrumbling through.
The fort surrendered to theConfederates in 1861.
(36:11):
It was reoccupied after theCivil War and shut down in 1867
when the water ran low.
Today, the Richards family,who've owned it for eight
generations, restored it withabsolutely no government money,
just grit and hard work.
You can visit the stabilizedruins, a 12,500 square foot
(36:32):
museum, and see artifacts likeold firearms and a stagecoach.
I mean, it's a real piece ofTexas history off the beaten
path.
So that's it, I promise.
That's all 20 plus a bonus.
Overlooked spots, from Texasfrontier forts to its World War
II camps, there are a lot moreplaces like this in Texas that
are often overlooked or peoplejust don't know about.
(36:54):
They're not the loudest names,but they've got stories,
prehistoric cave paintings,Texians fighting for
independence, soldiers holdingthe line, and everyday people
just shaping the state.
If you're into history, theseare worth a visit.
No big crowds, just the realthing.
You can check outTheTravellingFool.
com for more, or tell me yourown finds.
(37:14):
I might use them next time.
If you like this, I'dappreciate it if you leave a
review, and until next time,safe travels.
Thank you.
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