A Day Trip to Fort McKavett State Historic Site from Fredericksburg, Texas.

Fort McKavett State Historic Site is one of the best-preserved examples of a military post from the Texas Indian Wars (1850-1875).

If you enjoy learning about frontier posts, you must visit Fort McKavett next time you are in the Hill Country.

We made a day trip to the fort from Fredericksburg in October. It took us around 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there.

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On the way back, we stopped at the Presidio de San Saba in Menard, explored Menard, and visited Fort Mason in Mason.

Both Presidio de San Saba and Fort Mason are in the Texas Forts Trail Region, as is Fort McKavett State Historic Site. 

Here is the map of our day trip from Fredericksburg to Fort McKavett.

Where is Fort McKavett State Historic Site

Fort McKavett is located 108 miles northwest of Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country.

From Fredericksburg, we drove via US-290 W and I-10 W. Then, turned onto Ranch to Market Rd 1674 to the destination.

Fort McKavett is twenty miles southwest of Menard in southwestern Menard County.

If you visit South Llano River State Park, take a drive through here. It’s about 55 miles northwest of the park.

From Junction, it’s about 50 miles northwest.

On your way to Sonora Caverns in Sonora, make a detour to Fort McKavett. It’s 55 miles northeast of the caverns.

It is 71 miles south of San Angelo.

From I-10W, it is about 25 miles via Ranch to Market Rd 1674.

Address: 7066 FM 864, Fort McKavett, TX 76841. Ph. 325-396-2358.

Guide to Visit Fort McKavett State Historic Site

The entrance to the fort is spacious. You can stop to take pictures at the sign on the way in or out.

After parking, follow the sign to the Visitor Center. It is in the Hospital Building, which was completed on January 27, 1873.

Here, you will pay the entrance fees and pick up a visitor guide brochure. A ranger or a staff member at the museum will mark the buildings in the brochure that you are allowed to enter.

The Hospital Building also houses the museum, museum store, research library, staff offices, and restrooms. There is interesting information and stories to learn about the fort at the museum.

It reminded me of the hospital building in Fort Richardson State Park & Historic Site in Jacksboro.

You will do a self-guided tour on foot or a golf cart. The walkway is made of gravel, and you are allowed to cross the lawn to access some buildings.

The fort is large, so make sure you’re ready to walk. Watch out for snakes, though.

Dogs are welcome to explore the fort’s grounds with you, but they’re not allowed inside the buildings.

Several Highlights of the Fort McKavett Self-Guided Tour

You will visit historic sites that include original barracks, the headquarters, a schoolhouse, and several officers’ quarters. Some of the buildings are reconstructed from their original form.

Before starting the walk, don’t miss the Dead House (the morgue) and the Sinks (outhouses) behind the Hospital Building.

I suggest you follow the numbers in the brochure. That way, you won’t walk zigzagging through the fort and will visit the whole grounds.

Commanding Officer’s Quarters is pictured at the front of the brochure. You probably want to take a picture as I did above. 

Some of the Quarters are furnished as they would have appeared in the 1850s and 1870s.

One of the barracks, Barracks #3, was the longest military building west of the Mississippi River.

I didn’t walk to the buildings in the far east and north of the fort because it was too hot during my visit.

On the way back to the parking, you will see a sign for the Government Road Nature Trail. It runs from the fort down to the springs, lime kiln, and rock quarry. The fort’s soldiers built it.

I didn’t go down there because it was too hot; the temperature hit the lower 90s by the time I got back to the Visitor Center.

Fort McKavett State Historic Site: A Brief History

Before the European arrived, the area had long been home to various Native American groups.

The Spanish missionaries arrived in the area in the 1750s.

Fort McKavett was established in March of 1852 to protect the West Texas settlers and serve as a rest stop for California-bound immigrants. 

In 1859, Fort McKavett was abandoned due to a decline in warfare with Native Americans as a result of the establishment of reservations in Texas. Also, the immigrants are using a more southerly route to California.   

The post was briefly occupied during the Civil War as a temporary prisoner-of-war camp. The Texans abandoned it in April 1862. 

In 1868, the Army reopened the fort as a military post when hostilities between local Comanche Indians and the settlers increased.

Fort McKavett served as a major supply depot providing food and provisions for most of the military campaigns, scientific and mapping explorations, and other forts in West Texas from 1868 to 1883.

In 1883, the Army abandoned the fort again.

Soon after the Army left, the settlers began to move into the vacant buildings, and the town of Fort McKavett was born. The last residents moved out of the original buildings in 1973.

When I visited the Presidio de San Saba, a caretaker I met there told me he was born in the fort.

Fort McKavett Fun Facts:

– Every morning, the bugle call of “Reveille” began the day. Breakfast was often bacon, coffee, beans, and dried fruit.

– Engagements with Native Americans and outlaws occurred sporadically.

– More often, soldiers engaged in routine activities including hauling water from the creek, maintaining the buildings, loading and unloading supply wagons, tending the post gardens, and caring for livestock.

– Fort McKavett was home to soldiers from all four of the famous Buffalo Soldier regiments. Many of these African American soldiers utilized the educational and financial opportunities given to them by the Army to become successful businessmen after their service.

– Sgt. Emanuel Stance of the 9th Cavalry received the first Medal of Honor awarded to an African American soldier after the Civil War in recognition of his service at Fort McKavett.

– The Army at Fort McKavett employed women as laundresses. A typical arrangement involved one woman doing laundry for 19 men, earning a fee of $1 per soldier per month, which included housing and food. Although this work was challenging, these women could earn $19 or more a month, while an Army private earned only $13.

– Under the direction of the Fort McKavett surgeon, Army personnel at the fort became the area’s first weathermen by recording temperatures and rainfall at the post.

Can We Do Overnight Camping at Fort McKavett?

Overnight camping at Fort McKavett is only available to formal or chartered organizations (scouting groups, school organizations, military units, and/or civil/service organizations, etc.).

They can choose to stay in historic Barracks No. 4 or on the grounds. It is affordable: $50/day for 1-20 persons, $100/day for 21+ persons.

The site is not open for individuals or the general public for overnight camping.

However, the fort offers after-hours access for astronomical viewing and photography. It is the best place for taking pictures of the Milky Way with the fort as the foreground.       

The fort also offers a day-use facility. You can host an organizational meeting or conference in their historic Schoolhouse.

For weddings or other large venue requests, you can contact the Texas Historical Commission directly at mailto:ft-mckavett@thc.texas.gov

Hours:

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets:

Adult $5

Senior/Veteran/Teacher/First Responder $3

Child (6-17) $2

Child (5 and under) Free

Family (2 adults and 1 child) $8, each additional child $1

Dogs on leash are welcome on the fort grounds. They are not allowed inside any buildings.

So, next time you are in Fredericksburg, why don’t you go for a day trip to Fort McKavett?

While here, check out my other articles on frontier forts:

– Visiting Historic Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas.

– A Day Trip to Historic Fort Phantom Hill, Texas.