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COPYRIGHT 2001 Texas Monthly, Inc.
The people of Texas tradition are often epitomized as rancbland pioneers and determined revolutionaries, characterizations that are much more than glorified icons; in fact, the people who founded Texas were real, flesh-and-blood pioneers and revolutionaries. And thanks to the Texas Historical Commission's work to satisfy a traveling public hungry for heritage tourism, you can take a journey down roads that bring these historic images to life.
The first pair of 10 Texas Travel Trails to be officially deignated were the Texas Forts Trail, in western central Texas, and the Texas Independence Trail, in southeastern Texas. Both are packed with sites, lights, and experiences that recall and rejoice in Texas' dramatic and hard-fought creation. If you have a month or so to spare, by all means stop at the 120-plus spots on each of the trails. But if you have just a weekend for each, the following summary will give you 10 great highlights to see on either trail. Take plenty of film, and be prepared to fall in love with Texas history.
THE TEXAS FORTS TRAIL
That settlement ever came about in the land we now know as the forts region is nothing short of miraculous. The wild, forbidding country was riddled with perils the brave pioneers had never known, from rattlesnakes to riled-up natives. Settlers poured into this unknown land to the west, dreaming of opportunity and, eventually, just hoping to survive. In 1848 the federal government established a line of forts to protect these courageous souls, and the legacy of these lonely outposts that shaped a land has become part of the story of Texas.
Today's explorer can follow any or all of the 650-mile trail, a giant loop that courses through 29 counties in west central Texas to see vestiges of the U.S. Army's 44 major outposts and some 100 temporary camps. The highlights, of course, are the historic frontier forts and the surrounding communities and attractions.
The first leg of the Texas Forts Trail begins near the Taylor County seal of Abilene, where contemporary travelers flock to art exhibits at the Grace Museum, inside a lovely restored railroad hotel that faces the historic railway. But just 14 miles north of town are the Fort Phantom Hill Ruins, where monolithic, cactus-studded stone crumbles mark the site of an 1851 fort, settled and used for just three years. There was a water supply problem, and the fort burned in 1854--one soldier is said to have called the place a "barren waste." Nevertheless, it's a marvelous photo op, especially at sunrise or sunset, for lone chimneys, the stone commissary, the guardhouse, and a powder magazine remain.
A short jaunt across the western Cross Timbers region leads to the Shackelford County seat of Albany, where the ornate 1883 courthouse begs inspection. A block away sits the extraordinary Old Jail Art Center, and a fine bookstore anchors one corner of the pretty old square. Waste no time, however, in heading up the road about 15 miles to the rains of Fort Griffin, surrounded by rolling, scrubby state...
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