Old Fort Davis May Live Again By SAM ACHESON Editorial Staff of The News FORT DAVIS, described as "one of the most picturesque frontier fort ruins in all the West." may become a national monument under direction of the National Park Service. A move to enshrine this historic Vest Texas outpost in the Indian wars has been revived after a lapse of nearly a quarter of a century. It was proposed at the time of the Texas Centennial in 1936. Rep. Ewing Thomason of El Paso, now a federal judge, took the lead in Congress selling such a status for Fort Davis. Former Gov. Pat M. Neff. chairman of the Texas State Park Board in lf»36, urged the people of state and nation to insist that Fort Davis be preserved in this way for the benefit of posterity. NOW WITHIN the city of Fort Davis remains of rock and adobe buildings that served as post headquarters and barracks are a growing tourist attraction to thou- sands annually. The Davis Mountains State Park is only four miles away and McDonald Observatory is on the 75-mile scenic loop road based on Fort Davis. The original Fort Davis consisted of 63 buildings and dates from I854 when Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War. It was named then for the future President of the Confederacy .Before the Civil War. as afterward. Fort Davis proved to be the hub in military campaigns against the plains Indians of the West. It was occupied for a time during the Civil War by Confederate forces. THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE at this time administers 107 historic and archaeological sites throughout the United States. They range from George Washington's birthplace in Virginia to the site at Kitty Hawk. NC. where the Wright brothers made the first airplane flight. The only historical site in Texas now designated a national monument and ad- ministered by the park service is the San Jose Mission at San Antonio. besides being a major military outpost in the long armed conflict with the Indians. Fort Davis occupies an important place in the civilian story of the West as a cross- roads of two pioneer travel routes. They were the Chihuahua Trail and the Butterfield Overland Mail route that crossed Texas from Sherman to EI Paso. Dallas Morning News Current Issue: 1960-03-11

OLD FORT DAVIS ORDERED SOLD BE PUT UP AT AUCTION NOVEMBER 21 IN SMALL TRACTS. Staff Special to The News. Washington,, Sept. 20.—Old Fort Davis, in Jeff Davis County, will be sold at auction on Nov. 21 by Judge John W. Witten, chief law clerk of the Department of the Interior. The famous old military reservation, from which many a detachment of United States cavalry sallied forth in the early days to run down marauding Indians and keep the old El Paso trail clear for the stage coach and immigrants. Is to be knocked off to the highest bidder in thirty tracts of 18.49 acres each After the Southern Pacific Railroad opened up Western Texas and the Indians retired before the advance of the white settlers. Fort Davis, being far removed from the railroad, lost it's usefulness as an army post and was turned over to the Interior Department. The last session of Congress authorized the department to dispose of the reservation, and the order for its sale at auction was issued by the Acting Secretary of the Interior today. Fort Davis Is one of the natural beauty spots of Texas and has always been in favor as a health and summer resort on account of its wonderful climate. Current Issue: 1910-09-21 Dallas Morning News