Fort Lancaster, Texas Ruins by Kathy Alexander.
Fort Lancaster, Texas, was established in 1855 on the East bank of Live Oak Creek, just above where it joins the Pecos River.
The fort was tasked with pursuing and subduing the Comanche and Mescalero Apache Indians and guarding the Pecos Crossing of the San Antonio-El Paso Road. The military post was first established as Camp Lancaster on August 20, 1855, when Companies H and K of the First Infantry Regiment, led by Captain Stephen D. Carpenter, arrived. It became a permanent fort on August 21, 1856. One of the most isolated posts in Texas, Fort Lancaster’s only civilian activities were sutlering and serving as a stage stop for mail.
Soldiers constructed the permanent buildings at Fort Lancaster with a combination of limestone blocks and adobe. At its height, it had 25 permanent buildings and an average complement of 72 men and four officers. When the Civil War erupted, federal troops abandoned the fort on March 19, 1861. During the war, the 2nd Texas Cavalry occupied it, and it was an important stop on the supply line to Arizona and New Mexico in 1861-62. After the Civil War, the post was not re-commissioned but was frequently used as a sub-post for other Texas forts. In 1867, the Buffalo Soldiers’ 9th Cavalry used the post while assigned to Fort Stockton. In December, more than 100 soldiers and officers held off roughly 1,000 Kickapoo warriors with only three casualties.
It remained a stopping-off place for travelers attracted by the water supply. Later, private individuals bought it. In 1965, the owners donated the 39-acre site to Crockett County for preservation as a historic site. Today, extensive stone ruins remain, including partial stone walls (some rising 6 to 8 feet), chimneys, fireplaces, and piles of rubble. The old fort site is located in Crockett County, just off U.S. 290, about 10 miles East of Sheffield.
Contact Information:
Visit Fort Lancaster
P.O. Box 306
629 Fort Lancaster Road
Sheffield, Texas 79781
432-836-4391
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
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