Fort Croghan
| Fort Croghan | |
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| Historical Park Site | |
Fort Croghan Outpost
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| Coordinates: 30°45′25″N 98°14′15″W / 30.75694°N 98.23750°WCoordinates: 30°45′25″N 98°14′15″W / 30.75694°N 98.23750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Burnet |
| U.S. Army Fort | March 13, 1849 |
| Elevation | 1,329 ft (405 m) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-5) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1357583 |
Fort Croghan was the third of the first four forts established by the United States government to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. From its establishment on March 18, 1849 by Lt. C.H. Taylor (Company A, Second Dragoons) until it was abandoned in 1855, Fort Croghan was home to Company C, 8th Infantry, U.S.A. (mounted) and eventually became the headquarters of the Second Dragoon Regiment.
Part of a chain of forts extending from Fort Worth to Fort Inge near present-day Uvalde, the fort was named for Colonel George Croghan. The fort originally covered some 50 acres (200,000 m2) near the present day city of Burnet, Texas, extending from Hamilton Creek up and over Post Mountain. Today a small section exists due to the efforts of the Burnet County Historical Society who raised money in the 1960s to purchase this portion of the old fort.
In the 1840s, upon the annexation of Texas to the United States, the federal government became responsible for the protection of frontier settlers from Indian raids. Several companies of Texas Rangers, financed by the federal government, were stationed along the frontier. In December 1847, a company of Rangers under the command of Henry Eustace McCulloch took up a position about three miles (5 km) south of present-day Burnet. Samuel E. Holland purchased a 1,280-acre (5.2 km2) grant there in 1848, including the land on which the Ranger station was located. His residence built on that land is said to have been the first permanent home in Burnet County. 1. The indigenous peoples of the Americas had occupied this region for thousands of years, but did not build or live in permanent homes, theirs being a migratory culture.
In the late 1840s, it became apparent that the lure of free and cheap land had thrust many settlers far beyond the protection of civilization. More and more settlers arrived, many of them from foreign countries. Some came expecting to acquire good farmland near the Texas coast. They soon learned that they would have to move hundreds of miles inland and the only land left was marginal rangeland. Indians who had been peaceful due to treaties and the presence of the United States soldiers during the U.S.-Mexican War now began to come into conflict with these newcomers. The Comanche and Apache were particularly incensed at this intrusion into their ancient hunting grounds.
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Wikipedia