Fort Phantom Hill

Located in present-day Jones County, Fort Phantom Hill is one of the most pristine historic sites in Texas. It was one of the second line of forts laid out in the early 1850's to protect the westward-moving frontier of Texas settlement.

Today Fort Phantom Hill is part of the Texas Forts Trail, a 650-mile highway tour of historic Texas forts in West Central Texas. Originally known as the "Post on the Clear Fork of the Brazos," the fort was occupied by the U.S. Army from 1851 until 1854. Shortly after the army abandoned Fort Phantom Hill, fire destroyed most of the log walls and thatched roofs of the post's buildings. However, much remains for visitors to the old fort to explore, inspect and study, including three original stone buildings (an intact stone powder magazine, a stone guardhouse and an almost-intact commissary or warehouse), more than a dozen stone chimneys, and stone foundations from the original fort.

The 22-acre site is owned by the nonprofit Fort Phantom Foundation and is registered with the Texas Historical Survey Committee. The site is open daily during daylight hours and is free of charge to visitors.

The Foundation welcomes the public to experience this historic site, but reminds visitors that it is unlawful to disfigure, remove, excavate, or destroy any structure or artifact at Fort Phantom Hill.

The chimneys are a rock reminder of the colorful early days of Texas history, when Native Americans from the Comanche tribe still roamed the area, and U.S. Infantry troops struggled to create an outpost to protect the westward-moving frontier of Texas settlement.

Modern day visitors to Fort Phantom Hill can still get a feel for what life must have been like here in the 1850s as people tried to tame the unforgiving West Texas landscape. It seems the wisdom of General Persifor F. Smith's choice of this site for what was originally known as "The Post on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River" was disputed from the very beginning, especially by Major John Joseph Abercrombie. The major was a West Point graduate who commanded the Post on the Clear Fork from the time of its establishment on November 14, 1851, until April 27, 1852, according to A History of Fort Phantom Hill, The Post on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, Jones County, Texas (prepared by Martha Doty Freeman in May 1999 for The Fort Phantom Foundation).

Today Fort Phantom Hill is one of the most pristine historic sites in Texas. Besides the stone chimneys, other remnants of the developed fort remain for visitors to explore at the 22-acre site. These include an intact stone powder magazine, a stone guardhouse, and an almost-intact commissary or warehouse.