Old Stone Fort

Stones recovered from a razed 18th century structure form the walls of this historic replica building. The stone house stood originally near the intersection of El Camino Real and La Calle del Norte (present main at Fredonia), and was built by Don Antonio Gil Y’Barbo circa 1788-91. Because he was a military and civic leader, his home also served as an unofficial government building. Y’Barbo sold the property in 1805, and over the next century, owners and tenants used the building as a home, grocery store, restaurant, offices, courthouse, cobbler shop, jail, military barracks, saloon, and as a fortification during three filibustering expeditions and periodic raids by Native Americans. Sam Houston had his first law office in Texas in the building in 1833. The building became commonly known as “The Old Stone Fort” by the late 1870s, when proprietors began advertising in the nacogdoches news a saloon and billiards room at the location.

The landmark structure was demolished in 1902. Citizens used the original stones first in a memorial building on Washington Square, and again for a historically accurate replica built on the Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College campus in 1936.

Y’Barbo’s stone house was an important example of 18th century residential architecture, with French and Spanish colonial influences—exterior doors for each room, stairs on the gallery porch and fireplaces in each interior room. The stones are from a formation known as weches glauconite, a sedimentary rock containing iron clay minerals. Sun-dried adobe blocks formed the interior walls. Window sills, casements and beams were of hand-hewn black walnut. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962