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Wooded with pecan and oak trees, these were
cut and stones quarried on the post to construct the buildings.
Additional supplies, materials and livestock were moved to the fort
from
San Antonio.
Shortly after the fort was established, it
was renamed Fort McKavett, in honor of Captain Henry McKavett, who was killed in
the Battle of Monterey during the
Mexican-American War. The fort was garrisoned with
350-500 troops, about half of which were infantry, the rest
from cavalry companies, and officers that served in the regimental
headquarters. When the post was complete, General William T. Sherman
would describe it as "the prettiest post in
Texas."
The fort served as a supply base for
western
Texas, a location for testing new weapons and equipment, in addition to
protecting the upper San Antonio-El Paso Road. Though the troops were
involved in a few small skirmishes, in the posts’ early years, for
most of the time, life was rather routine, with the troops escorting
travelers, maintaining the post, patrolling the area, and loading
supplies to be sent to other posts. After several years, the fort was
abandoned in March, 1859, and the soldiers transferred to other
locations.
Having no one to protect them from
Indian
raids, most of the civilians left nearby Scabtown when the soldiers
departed.
After the
Civil War, the fort was
re-garrisoned to fight in the
Indian Wars in April, 1868, and nearby "Scabtown,”
also grew again, though this time, it took on the the name of the
fort. During the next several years, the soldiers were engaged in
several skirmishes and major
Indian campaigns including Colonel Ranald
Mackenzie’s and William Shafter’s raids into Mexico, and at the Battle
of Palo Duro Canyon during the Red River War in 1874. However, after
almost a decade, the "Indian menace,” was over and fort was abandoned
for the last time on June 30, 1883.
This time, with the
Indian threat gone,
the civilians in the town of Fort McKavett stayed on, some of whom
occupied the Fort McKavett buildings. By the mid-1890s the community
had about 80 people, a weekly newspaper, two hotels, three churches,
and a broom and mattress factory. In 1904, the school boasted 28
students.
By the 1920s, the town of Fort McKavett
sported a population of
about 150, but fell during the Great Depression. The number continued to
fall and by 1990, the town was called home to only about 45 people. Today,
there are only a smattering of ranchers in the area, but amazingly, a post
office remains open.
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