Fort Chadbourne

We attended the Fort Chadbourne Fundraiser last night. Fort Chadbourne was established October 28, 1852 by companies A and K of the Eighth United States Infantry. The fort was named for 2nd Lt. Theodore Lincoln Chadbourne who fought and was killed in the Mexican War in the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. Fort Chadbourne is one of the frontier forts established to protect the settlers moving west. Other forts located in the Texas Forts Trail Region are Fort Mason, Fort McKavett, Fort Concho, Fort Phantom Hill, Fort Griffin, Fort Richardson, and Fort Belknap.

The dinner began with the shooting of the canon by the soldiers.



We had delicious mesquite cooked steaks, green beans with potatoes, salad and of course, dutch oven peach cobbler for desert. We were able to walk around and see the fort as they continue with the restoration. There were all kinds of characters walking around:



Aren't these horses pretty? ....I guess horses can be pretty.





Look at this horse all by himself. Can you see the soldier's sword in the saddle?



This guy really liked having his picture taken.




He just kept following me around, wanting me to take his picture. He reminds me of some of the sidekicks for famous sheriffs like Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett and of course good ole' Matt Dillon.




Here's a picture of the double officer's quarters.






And it's real hard to tell, but some of the men who served at the fort, carved their names and the year into the plaster on the walls.




Fort Chadbourne served as a Butterfield Stage Stop from 1858 - 1861. The Butterfield Overland Mail's first stage rolled through Fort Chadbourne on September 23, 1858. The stage traveled a 2800 mile route that began in St. Louis, Missouri and ended in San Francisco, California.



Barry Corbin served as the station keeper for the show.




Doesn't he just look like he's from the 1850's??? He tells the story of Dr. Tucker's journey from St. Louis back to his home in San Francisco which ended with a duel taking place at the Fort Chadbourne Station.




It was pretty dark, so this next picture isn't very good, but here is a picture of the stagecoach recently purchased for Fort Chadbourne. I don't know why they didn't have it on display earlier in the evening.



The weather was great and we had really good time.