Fort Crockett, Texas
Fort Crockett, Texas, was named after David Crockett, who was killed at the Alamo in 1836. The military reservation on Galveston Island was established in 1897 for coast artillery training and harbor defense. It was first occupied by Battery G, First Artillery. Fronting the Gulf of Mexico, its batteries held ten-inch guns, mortars, and rapid-fire guns. The buildings were still being constructed when a hurricane and subsequent flood in 1900 destroyed them. After the hurricane, the fort’s batteries were transferred to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The fort was not garrisoned again until 1911. The installation eventually became the headquarters for the Sixty-ninth Coast Artillery.
In the mid-1920s, an airfield was built nearby. During World War II, German prisoners of war were interned at the fort from 1941 to 1946. The post served as a recreational facility for active and reserve military personnel and their families when the war was over. In 1955, however, the land was declared surplus, and the property and buildings were sold. Today, portions of the fort are home to the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Laboratory. The area still contains several historical buildings and military fortifications.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022.
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