The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 285
672 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Collection
old fort in the Davis Mountains of West Texas came under Na-
tional Park Service administration following intensive study by
Service historians and evaluation by the National Parks Advisory
Board. Bills introduced in Congress by Senator Ralph Yarborough
and Representative J. T. Rutherford in 1961 were enacted to
authorize addition of the site to the System. The owners, Mr.
and Mrs. John C. Jackson of Houston, conveyed the property
to the United States in December, 1962.
Fort Davis presently represents one of the best surviving
examples of the typical frontier fort of the 19th century. This
fact was recognized by the citizens of the town of Fort Davis
who, led by Barry Scobee, Martin Merrill, and other members
of the Fort Davis Historical Society, worked tirelessly for years
to have the site preserved by the Federal Government. Scobee
and Merrill testified before the congressional committee that
studied the bill.
Michael J. Becker, the first superintendent of the site, moved
to Fort Davis in January, 1963. He was formerly superintendent
of Tumacacori National Monument, Arizona, and earlier served
at the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. National Park Service
Historian Erwin N. Thompson reported on March 31, having
transferred from Whitman Mission National Monument, Wash-
ington; and Park Ranger Robert D. Dunnagan moved from
Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, late in April.
There are more than twenty-five old buildings standing at
Fort Davis in varying stages of decay. The National Park Service
plans to stabilize and in some cases restore these buildings in
order to save them from the imminent collapse that now threat-
ens. This work will be carried out under the supervision of Super-
intendent Becker with the aid of architectural and historical
specialists of the Service's Western Office of Design and Construc-
tion in San Francisco and the Southwest Regional Office in Santa
Fe. The long and dramatic history of Fort Davis, spanning the
years 1854 to 1891, will be portrayed in a museum to be installed
in a restored barracks building. The exhibits are presently being
prepared in the Western Museum Laboratory of the National
Park Service in San Francisco. The restoration of the barracks
building and installation of the museum is expected to be com-
pleted by the summer of 1964.285
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/327/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.