Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, was established in 1867 as Camp Hatch in order to maintain law and order in West Texas. The name changed to Fort Concho the next year after the Middle and North Concho rivers in San Angelo. The complex expanded slowly, using materials imported from the Gulf Coast and stonemasons and carpenters from Fredericksburg. By 1879, the U.S. Army had stationed eight companies at Fort Concho and a number of officers commanded the fort, including Ranald S. Mackenzie and Benjamin H. Grierson. Grierson also commanded the District of the Pecos during his supervision of the fort from 1878 to 1881, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry Regiment, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, were headquartered at the fort from 1875 to 1882. After the 10th Cavalry left, Fort Concho primarily housed soldiers awaiting reassignment. In 1889, the U.S. Army left, and the buildings were converted for civilian use. In 1930, Ginevra Wood Carson moved her West Texas Museum to the fort and renamed it the Fort Concho Museum. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
Source:
Daniel, Wayne, and Carol Schmidt.
Consisting of photocopies and typescripts, the Fort Concho Telegrams, 1882, document the military life of soldiers at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, in 1882. The six telegrams from B. H. Grierson, George H. Washington, and others at the fort report on the unsettled condition of the Mescalero Apaches, the shortage of forage, the name and description of a deserter, a complaint about a telegraph operator at San Antonio, instructions to send a piano, and instructions concerning David R. Dillon, Jr.
This collection is open for research use.
Fort Concho Telegrams, 1882, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s