Fort Phantom Hill
N of Abilene on Ranch Rd. 600, Abilene, TX<p>with the expansion of western settlement and increased contact between settlers and Indians, the need for protection on the trails west and at the fringe of the frontier became necessary. Fort Phantom Hill, established in 1851, was part of a cordon of forts established from the Red River to the Rio Grande for this purpose.</p><p>Although it was a short-lived military post (1851-1854), the post served as a Butterfield Overland station (1858) and a substation for Fort Griffin after the Civil War (1871)<br>The site has archeological potential as well as being a dramatic reminder of this significant era of Western frontier advancement.</p>
Bibliography
National Park Service. 1963. Soldier and Brave. Vol. XII. New York, Evanston, London: Harper and Row, Publishers.
Rister, C. c. 1938. The Border Post of Phantom Hill. The West Texas Historical Assn. Year Book. Vol. 14. West Texas Historical Assn., Abilene, Texas.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.