HISTORICAL MARKERS

JEFF DAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS

COURTHOUSE LAWN CSA MARKER

OLD FORT DAVIS C.S.A. CONFEDERATE SUPPLY POINT AND FRONTIER OUTPOST ON GREAT MILITARY ROAD FROM SAN ANTONIO TO EL PASO 1861-62. AFTER SURRENDERED BY U.S.ARMY, OCCUPIED BY DETACHMENT 2ND TEXAS MOUNTED RIFLES. APACHES AMBUSHED PATROL FROM FORTUNDER LT.MAYS IN BIG BEND AREA AUGUST 1861. USED BY TEXAS CONFEDERATE TROOPS EN ROUTE TO AND FROM NEW MEXICO-ARIZONA COMPAIGN TO STOP FLOW OF GOLD TO NORTH AND GAIN ACCESS TO PACIFIC. TWO CANNONS BURIED NEARBY ON RETURN HAVE NEWER BEEN FOUND OCCUPIED BRIEELY CALIFORNIA UNION CAVALRY. AUGUST 1862. A MEMORIAL TO TEXANS WHO SERVED THE CONFEDERACY RECTED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS 1963

OVERLAND TRAIL MUSEUM

PIONEER CEMETERY

 Used from 1870s to 1914. Settlers buried here include: Mr. and Mrs. Diedrick Dutchover, immigrants from Belgium and Spain; their surname, coined by a recruiter in the Mexican War, is borne by many descendants. Dolores, who on her wedding eve lighted a signal fire for her fiance, later found scalped by Indians; she became mentally ill and (until her death 30 years later) burned fires on mountain near town for her lost lover. Two young Frier brothers, who were shot by a Ranger posse as horse thieves and were buried in only boothill grave in county. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

SAN ANTONIO- ELPASO ROAD

Westward expeditions opened trails from San Antonio to El Paso in the late 1840s. Two routes, called the upper and lower roads, converged at the Pecos River to traverse the Davis Mountains. Henry Skillman (1814-1864) began a courier service along the road in 1850 and was awarded a U.S. Government contract to carry the mail. He formed a partnership with George H. Giddings (1823-1902) in 1854, and they established relay stations along the route, including one at the new U.S. Army Post at Fort Davis. During the Civil War, control of the area passed to the Confederates, and Giddings continued mail service for the new government. By 1867 Fort Davis was occupied by four companies of the 9th U.S. Cavalry. After Federal reoccupation, stage and courier routes were more frequently utilized, with travelers often accompanied by Army escorts from Fort Davis and other posts. After the arrival of railroads in West Texas in the 1880s, use of overland roads declined sharply, though the trails did provide access to new settlers and were still used by the army as links between forts. Vestiges of the Old San antonio-El Paso Overland Road can still be seen in Fort Davis and surrounding areas. (Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986)

THE PINERY

 Ruins of "The Pinery" or "Pine Springs" Stage Stand . Built in 1858 as a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, St Louis to San Francisco Abandoned in 1859, when the line was shifted to the Davis Mountain route

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