Visiting Historic Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas.

A visit to Fort Martin Scott is one of the free things to do in Fredericksburg, Texas.

It is an outdoor museum that helped shape the pioneer town of Fredericksburg.

Fort Martin Scott is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas in 1980. 

Let’s dig into the history of the fort before I take you to tour the fort grounds.

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History of Fort Martin Scott

Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas, was one of the first United States Army outposts built on the western frontier of Texas.

It was built in 1848 to protect pioneers moving west from San Antonio to El Paso. 

The soldiers stationed in the fort patrolled the Fredericksburg – San Antonio road and surrounding area.

One of the outpost missions was to protect travelers and settlers against Indian attacks. 

At first, the fort was called Camp Houston. A few months later, it was called Camp near Fredericksburg.

In December 1849, the Eighth Military Department renamed the camp for Major Martin Scott, who was killed in the Mexican War in 1847.

The last military Company left Fort Martin Scott in February 1852 after the settlers pushed farther west, and the fort lost its strategic significance.

After that, Fort Martin Scott turned into different functions.

– The Texas Rangers used the site as a camp before and after military occupation.

– During the Civil War, the Confederate States Army occupied the fort for a short period.

– Later abandoned, the Braeutigam family purchased and used it as a farm.

– The property was purchased by the City of Fredericksburg in 1949.

Today, Fort Martin Scott is owned and managed by the City of Fredericksburg.

If you like learning about old forts in Texas, you must stop here when you are in Fredericksburg. It’s not big like Fort Phantom Hill in Abilene or Fort Richardson in Jacksboro.

You can find it on the east side of the town, on your way to Wildseed Farms, wineries on 290, or Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site in Stonewall.

Visiting historic Fort Martin Scott won’t take a lot of your time. You can go any time, but summer can be super hot!

Visiting Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas.

We visited Fort Martin Scott on Saturday morning after Thanksgiving. It was one of the days when they opened the buildings to visitors.

If you visit between Monday and Thursday, you can only see the buildings from outside while walking on the path circling the ground.

Read more: Thanksgiving in Texas Hill Country.

We wanted to park at the Texas Rangers Heritage Center next door, but it was closed. So we parked on the dirt lot in front of the fort.

Our self-guided tour began from the closest building to the parking, which was the building on the left side. It is a reconstructed building of an Officer’s Quarters. 

We continued passing stone markers and another reconstructed building.

At the corner, we turned left. There are more stone markers from the hospital, warehouse, laundry quarters, bakery, and store.

Then we went back to the path.

We stopped at the only original building from the fort, the Braeutigam family homestead. It used to be a guardhouse. The family added more rooms and back and front porches from salvaged bits of other buildings.

There is also a farm shade at the back.

After a couple of stone markers, we stopped at another reconstructed building in the fort complex, which serves as a Visitor Center.

There were two docents during our visit, and they were friendly and full of information about Fort Martin Scott.

Dogs are welcome into the Visitor Center. They gave Snoopy a treat and a doggy waste dispenser for us.

There is a gift shop and modern bathrooms in this building.

From here, we walked to the back of the building. There was a reconstructed blacksmith and a chuckwagon next to the blacksmith.

There was a gate connection to the Texas Ranger Heritage Center, but it wasn’t open during our visit.

We walked through a couple of stone markers before continuing to the car. It was less than an hour.

You can start your self-guided tour by visiting the Visitor Center first.

Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg was a complex of twenty-one buildings. They have restored only three of the garrison buildings during our visit. The stone markers indicate the original building locations.

I don’t know when the city will build more reconstruction buildings in this complex. I noticed some informative signs were faded and not easy to read. They need to fix them first.

There is a nature trail on the north side of Fort Martin Scott. It winds along Baron’s Creek for about half a mile. The Fredericksburg Rotary Club built a bird blind at the trailhead.

We didn’t do this trail, so I have nothing to share.

At the corner of the parking, there’s a Fredericksburg city sign. Don’t forget to take a picture by this sign.

Fort Martin Scott Hours of Operation:

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visitors can do self-guided tours on other days, but buildings are locked.

There is no admission charge to historic Fort Martin Scott.

Fort Martin Scott Address:

1606 East Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Ph.: (830) 307-8715.

When you drive from downtown Fredericksburg, it will be on the left-hand side, across the Gillespie County Law Enforcement Center.

It’s only about 2 miles from the center of Main Street Fredericksburg.

Your GPS might take you to the Texas Rangers Heritage Center. If it closed, turn around and go back towards downtown Fredericksburg. A few yards after you turn right towards the city, there’s an entrance to Fort Martin Scott parking. 

Where is Fredericksburg, TX?

Fredericksburg is a Germantown in the Texas Hill Country. The German settlers found the town on May 8, 1846.

It is about an hour’s drive north of San Antonio, one hour and thirty minutes west of Austin, four hours northeast of Dallas, and about four hours west of Houston.

Fredericksburg is one of the best small towns in Texas that you must visit. Our family enjoyed visiting Fredericksburg every season, but Christmas in Fredericksburg is my favorite time of year.

There are 60 wineries, vineyards, and wine-tasting rooms in and around Fredericksburg. It makes the town also known as a Texas wine country. Not to mention more than a dozen wineries located within an hour or two hours drive from Fredericksburg.

Where to stay in Fredericksburg?

If you are a camper like us, check out Oakwood RV Resort, The Vineyards of Fredericksburg RV Park, or Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park. Our family had stayed in those RV parks, and we enjoyed our stay with them.

Our trailer doesn’t have a shower feature, and those places had clean bathrooms during our stay. They are pet-friendly as well.

My friend and her husband enjoyed their stay in the stylish adult environment at the Hangar Hotel. Another friend and her husband preferred to stay at one of the Sunday Houses.

Sunday Houses were the secondary homes of German-Texans ranchers and farmers in Fredericksburg. They lived in a remote area, but the weekend was the time for doing business in town, Saturday night socializing, and attending church on Sunday mornings. So that’s why they built this second house called Sunday Haus back in the 1800s.

Today, most Sunday Houses turned into Bed & Breakfasts or Airbnb. Most of them are pet-friendly.

If you are visiting with your family, including your dog, you can also check out La Quinta Inn & Suites, Best Western Plus, Days Inn, or Peach Tree Inn & Suites. The last one is a family-owned and operated hotel.       

Here are more articles about Fredericksburg and the surrounding area that are worth checking: 

– Cruising the Gillespie County Country Schools Driving Trails in Fredericksburg, Texas.

– Pick Your Own Fredericksburg Peaches at Jenschke Orchards.

– Epic Enchanted Rock Hiking.

– Bat Emergence at Old Tunnel State Park in Fredericksburg, Texas.