View source for Fort Clark (Texas)

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'''Fort Clark (1852-1946)''' - Originally established as '''Fort Riley''' on 20 Jun 1852 by Major [[Joseph H. LaMotte]]<!-- not USMA -->, [[1st U.S. Infantry]], and named after the Commander of the [[1st U.S. Infantry]]. The fort was renamed Fort Clark on 15 Jul 1852 for Major [[John B. Clark]]<!-- not USMA -->. Active through [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. The fort was closed in 1946.
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File:Fort Clark Cmdg Off Qtrs.jpg|Fort Clark 1874 Commanding Officers Quarters.
File:Fort Clark 1932 Barracks.jpg|Fort Clark 1932 Barracks.
File:Fort Clark Commissary Building.jpg|Fort Clark 1892 Commissary Building.
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== History ==
[[File:Fort Clark Post HQ Burned.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Fort Clark 1857 Post Headquarters. Burned down in November 1959 during the filming of John Wayne's "The Alamo"]]
Fort Clark's original purpose was to guard the Mexican border and the [http://www.over-land.com/elpaso_road.html San Antonio-El Paso Road] against hostile Indian attacks. Colonel Mansfield in his inspection report in 1853 said that Fort Clark was "544 miles without settlement of ''any description'' after leaving El Paso" and recommended that three forts be built in between.
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==[[U.S. Civil War]]==
On 19 Mar 1861, after Texas seceded from the Union, the federal troops at Fort Clark surrendered the fort to the Provisional Army of Texas. Confederate forces occupied the fort until August 1862. After the war, the fort was again under federal control and was regarrisoned in 1866.

{{FtClark(1)Cmdrs}}

==Current Status==
Must See! Now a large, gated private community with a manned access gate. Visitors are welcomed. Essential to any visit is the "Historic District Walking Tour" brochure, The post is preserved with old and more recent structures and barracks repurposed and now a part of the Fort Clark Historic District. The Old Fort Clark Guardhouse Museum is maintained by the Fort Clark Historical Society but only open on weekends. Most of the WWII temporary buildings are gone.
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{{#display_map:
29.30473,-100.42228~ Fort Clark }}
{{Location|Just southwest of Brackettville, Kinney County, Texas.|29.30473|-100.42228|1}}
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'''GPS Locations:'''
{{GPSLocation|Fort Clark|29.30473|-100.42228}}


'''See Also:'''
* [[San Antonio to El Paso Roads]]

'''Sources:''' 
* {{Frazer}}, page 146.
* {{Hart}}, page 156.
* {{Mansfield}}, page 29.

'''Links: '''
* [http://www.northamericanforts.com/West/tx-south.html#clark1 North American Forts - Fort Clark]
* [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbf10 Texas Handbook - Fort Clark]
* [http://www.fortclark.com/sub_category_list.asp?category=13&title=History Fort Clark Website]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Clark,_Texas Wikipedia - Fort Clark]
* [http://www.fortclark.com/sub_category_list.asp?category=12&title=Museum Old Guardhouse Museum]
* [http://www.ffchd.org Fort Clark Historic District]

{{Visited|29 Nov 2017}} 

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[[Category:Must See]]
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Texas Forts]]
[[Category:Texas Kinney County]]
[[Category:Starter Page]]
[[Category:2018 Research Trip]]
[[Category:Sites]]