A Day at Fort Davis and Davis Mountain State Park

Sightseeing in southern Texas

From where we are currently parked at Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis National Historic Site is 101 miles to the north. If I waited until we get up to Carlsbad, New Mexico in March, it would be 160 miles to the south. I didn’t want to miss seeing this national park so we made the trip yesterday.

When we arrived at Fort Davis, the temperature had dropped to only 50 degrees and the wind picked up to about 20 miles an hour with gusts. It was freezing to us since we are more used to the 70 and 80 degrees in the Big Bend area with little wind. It made it quite chilly to walk around the fort.

Fort Davis was established by the U.S. Army in 1854. The Jeff Davis County Jail in the picture above was built in 1910 and retained its original function until 1978. These one story jailhouses were popular in the 19th century. Once it no longer met requirements as a jail, it was occupied by the county clerk until 2009. Today it sits vacant at the Clay Espy Memorial Park in the town of Fort Davis.

Fort Davis National Historic Site is located on the northern edge of the town on Highway 118 north. As you drive the road back to the visitor center, you can see the entire fort. Many buildings are still standing. In this photo you can see the guardhouse, headquarters, and chapel, as well as some of the two-story officer’s quarters in the back.

The row of white buildings was called Officer’s Row. It included furnished shared Lieutenants’ quarters, Commanding Officer’s quarters, and the kitchen and servant’s quarters.

The foundations and ruins of the fort are fragile and walking in or on them is destructive, hazardous, and illegal, so you can only see some of the ruins from a distance. When the fort became a national historic site in 1963, the National Park Service managed to save what was left of the original structures, but the ruins still suffered the ravages of time and weather.

All that is left of the stables and corrals are the foundation ruins. When you walk through the park you must stay on the marked trails only.

The visitor center is located in the original enlisted men’s barracks. There is a small gift shop inside where you can purchase books and see exhibits of artifacts found in the adjacent museum. There is also an auditorium where you can watch a short presentation video about the fort.

And don’t forget to stamp your National Park Passport book and get a sticker.

Fort Davis was named for Jefferson Davis in 1854 by its founder Persifor Smith. Jefferson Davis became the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Fort Davis soldiers scouted and patrolled the area for hostile Indian groups. Fort Davis was a key frontier military post from 1854 to 1981, protecting emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road system.

The old historic road, which is more like a dirt trail, is still there.

On to Davis Mountains State Park…

The Indian Lodge was closed for the winter months so we could not visit the gift shop. We drove through the camping routes first and this is a beautiful park for camping. There are primitive sites, and full-hookup sites both.

But the biggest attraction of this state park is the Skyline Drive up the mountain.

This scenic drive up the mountain features many magnificent views and places to stop and get out to admire the surrounding area. The hairpin turns are not for campers or motorhomes. Automobiles and motorcycles only preferred.

The paved road starts at the campgrounds and travels all the way up to the peak of the mountain in the southeast of the park. There is also a walking trail that goes all the way between the old fort and the state park.

If you visit Davis Mountains, don’t miss this gem of a drive.

And two more things — as you drive Highway 118 between Fort Davis and Davis Mountains State Park, don’t miss the Keesey Canyon Hoodoos,

and the abandoned pump house.

All in all it was a great daytrip sightseeing. I hope you enjoyed the photos and information. Please clap, comment, and follow along for more adventures.