Who's Who in Texas - A listing of people and businesses across the state of Texas

Altitude 5,050

General

The little town of Fort Davis, nestled within the beautiful Davis Mountains of West Texas, is often referred to as the Mile-High Town and just as frequently is compared to another well-known town, Denver, which has a similar altitude. Fort Davis is the highest town in the state.

This community traces its beginnings to 1854 when then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis ordered the establishment of a Federal military post in these wild mountain vastness, then known as the Apache Mountains, to protect the growing immigrant traffic headed west to the California gold fields. Seven years later Civil War brought an end to this occupation. In 1867 however, the Fort was reestablished and over the next 24 years was rebuilt and grew into one of the major Federal outposts. Soldiers from this fort, largely the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry regiments which were made up of the famed Buffalo soldiers recruited from the freed slaves or freedmen following the war, were the effective fighting forces that put an end to the continuing Indian depredations. The Fort was closed in 1891.

Today, Fort Davis can boast what is considered the finest restored western cavalry post in the United States. The Fort Davis National Historic Site is open everyday, seven days a week from 8-5 in the winter and 8-6 during the summer.

This begins what a visitor can enjoy in Fort Davis. The town has numerous places to stay including a historic hotel, motels, bed and breakfasts, an RV park with camp grounds, restaurants and several very nice gift shops.

Nearby is the Davis Mountains State Park with both accommodations and a restaurant. Just up the road is the well-known Prude Ranch, a longtime landmark as a dude ranch.

Beyond all this is the magnificent Scenic Loop that circles 75 miles through the Davis Mountains and includes on its route the McDonald Observatory. This is one of the great astronomy sites in the United States. In January a new 432 inch telescope was opened for visitation. It is the largest in the world open to the public and compare with a similar one located in Hawaii. There are also two other "smaller", 107"and 80", telescopes open to visitors. Three times weekly there are nighttime viewing opportunities where trained astronomers, aided by lesser telescopes, can help you view the heavenly bodies.

Fort Davis is the gateway to the spectacular Big Bend country, which lies south and southeast. This is the wonderland of Texas, and anyone visiting it should be sure to experience Fort Davis.

DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

FORT DAVIS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

HISTORIC INN: Limpia Hotel

NEIL MUSEUM

OVERLAND TRAIL MUSEUM

SCENIC DRIVE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MCDONALD OBSERVATORY AT MOUNT LOCKE

Attractions

• CHIHUAHUAN DESERT VISITOR CENTER - Botanic gardens, and nature trails related to the desert flora. On Texas 1228, 3.5 miles south
• DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK - In a sloping basin among scenic Davis Mountain, 2,869 acres host more than 155,000 visitors annually. Primary service facility is multilevel hotel called the Indian Lodge, patterned in the pueblo style. A free interpretive center is open afternoons, June through August featuring plant and animal material, both live and mounted; bird observation window and wildlife watering station. Camping, picnicking, dining room, trailer facilities, rest rooms, nature study, hiking. Six miles west of Fort Davis; Texas 118 Park Road 3. Admission is charged.
• FORT DAVIS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE - When pioneers and gold seekers surged west in the mid-1800s, national concern focused on secure travel routes. In Texas, nearly 600 miles of wilderness stretched between San Antonio and El Paso. Throughout the distance, wagon travelers fell prey to fiercely hostile Indians. Fort Davis, established in 2854, was the first military post to guard the route and offer haven by the precious waters of Limpia Creek.

But the trauma of Civil War stripped the frontier of military protection, and the Indians again marauded unchecked. Little of value remained when federal troops returned to Fort Davis in 1q867. New construction eventually produced substantial rock and adobe e buildings that housed up to 12 companies of cavalry and infantry. Post-war troopers were black "buffalo soldiers," many of them former slaves from Southern plantations.

As the western movement resumed, troopers patrolled the long immigrant road, escorted mail and wagon trains, and mounted wide-ranging expeditions into the vast wilderness territory. After years of conflict, peace and civilian settlement finally came to the frontier. With the bluecoats no longer needed, Fort Davis was deactivated in 1891.

Operated by the National Park Service, Fort Davis today is a superb example of frontier forts from that epic era, including both ruins and restorations. A museum, open daily in reconstructed barracks, vividly interprets frontier military life.

Another feature is a sound re-creation of a 19th Century military parade - bugles and hoofbeats...the clank and jangle of mounted troops...music from ban manuals of 1875. Echoing over the empty parade ground, it is a haunting fragment of the past.

• HISTORIC INN: Limpia Hotel - Restored country inn, c. 1912, sturdy, turn-of-the-century oak furniture, second story verandah and glassed in sunporch with rattan rockers; Boarding House restaurant. Two suites and nine rooms with baths.
• NEIL MUSEUM - Antique toys made in Texas, 300 antique dolls, bottles, and furniture. In historic 1898 Truehart House seven blocks west of the courthouse. Also two rooms bed-and-breakfast with antique furniture; year round.
• OVERLAND TRAIL MUSEUM - Named for historic trail that once passed its front door, small museum was former home, office and shop of Nick Mersfleter, early resident who was the justice of the peace, barber, and area music master. Austrian-born Mersfelter could play almost any instrument, was once member of the San Antonio Philharmonic Orchestra. Pioneer ranch, trail, and law enforcement artifacts.
• SCENIC DRIVE - A 74 mile loop through the Davis Mountains (from and back to Fort Davis) leads to a host of choice mountain landscapes. Two miles south on Texas 17 take Texas 166 west to intersection with Texas 118, then southeast back to Texas 17 and Fort Davis. Features include nine scenic roadside parks, Mount Locke topped by McDonald Observatory, beautiful Madera Canyon, and Davis Mountains State Park.
• UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MCDONALD OBSERVATORY AT MOUNT LOCKE - Built in 1932 following bequest from William j. McDonald, amateur astronomer. On 6,791 foot peak of Mount Locke. Site selected because of clear air, high ration of cloudless nights, distance from concentrations of artificial lights, and dust and radiation filtering growths of shrubs and timber. Original instrument was 82 inch reflector; 107 inch reflector is in larger dome.

A visitor center at the foot of Mount Locke presents programs daily form 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each Tues., and Friday and Saturday evening, weather permitting, the center conducts "Star Parties' for the general public, with viewing of stars and planets through telescopes set up by the observatory. Observatory is 16 miles northwest via Texas 118, Spur 78. Spectacular view from site.

Once a month, visitors can view celestial objects through 107 inch telescope by making reservations with the visitors center. (Very popular and sometimes booked months in advance. ) Fee is charged for large telescope viewing. 915-426-3640.