Historical Marker
Old Fort Cemetery
Historical marker location:
Walter and 8th St., Ft. Stockton, Texas
( At the Old Fort Cemetery, corner of Walter and 8th Sts., Ft. Stockton)
Marker installed: 1968
Burial ground for soldiers stationed at Fort Stockton and for civilians in the little town that grew up around the post. The fort was established 1859; temporarily closed 1861-1867.
Troops here protected the San Antonio-San Diego mail line and quelled Indian raids into Mexico on the infamous Comanche Trail.
This cemetery testifies to the hardships of frontier life: no headstone was erected for a person over 40. In 1888 (after the fort was permanently closed in 1886), remains of the 56 soldiers buried here were moved to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.