Fort Davis National Historic Site

Located at the site of the fort built in the mid-19th century to protect the 600-mile-long San Antonio-El Paso Road, Ft. Davis is considered one of the Southwest's best examples of a frontier military post. The park contains both renovated buildings and ruins, many created during the period the fort was abandoned during the US Civil War, leaving the region and the fort unprotected. When federal troops returned to the nearly destroyed fort in 1867, they rebuilt the facilities using adobe and rock; these buildings today have been renovated.

The role of the fort as a protection for the mail and wagon train route continued until the conflicts in the region were settled in 1891. Today the buildings can be seen on self-guided tours; some buildings are staffed with costumed docents during peak season. Exhibits on the fort's history can be seen at the museum housed in a reconstructed barracks.

A unique feature of the park is its audio recreation of the period of the period through bugle and hoofbeat soundsplayed throughout the day.

For more information:

• visit www.nps.gov/foda

Photo courtesy Texas Dept. of Economic Development, Tourism Division

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