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FORT
HANCOCK, TEXASHudspeth
County, West
Texas
Highway 20 - just South of I-10
52 miles SE of El
Paso
66 miles W of Van
Horn
Population: 400 |
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History
in a Pecan Shell Camp
Rice/Fort HancockFort
Hancock had been established as Camp Rice in 1881. After the death of Union
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock in 1886, the post changed its name to
honor the General, who had wounded at Gettysburg and was later the commander of
the 5th Military Department (which included Texas).
Fort Hancock
and Fort Quitman were both subposts to the "Mother Fort" of Fort Davis.
It was near what had been Ft. Quitman, but was reestablished in 1882
to be nearer to the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was one of the few forts in
Texas to be purchased by the U.S. War Department.
The Handbook of Texas
graciously supplies the purchase price of $2,370 - which answers the nagging question:
What's a Fort Worth?" It became an independent post in 1884.
Hancock
was frequently flooded by the Rio Grande despite small dams that had been built
by the soldiers to prevent this. They also endured several fires before pulling
out in 1895.
A town sprang up just East of the Fort and the post
office opened in 1886, the year the Fort's name changed.
The
town of Fort Hancock today has an estimated population of 400 and had its
15 minutes of fame recently, when it was mentioned as a border crossing point
in the end of the movie "The Shawshank Redemption." Van
Horn Hotels > Book Here and Save |
| Photographer
Jason Penney says today that while many fish can be caught here (catch and release),
the pollution from the Rio Grande prohibits them being eaten. |
| Water
diverted from the Rio Grande
Photo Courtesy Jason
Penney |
Indian
Hot Springs Hudspeth
County, West Texas
Lonesomeness Redefined -
Fort Hancock, "Fort Unworthy",
Victorio's Secret, the Buffalo Soldier's graves and the skirmish that made them
necessary.
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save:
Van
Horn Hotels | El
Paso Hotels |
Fort
Hancock Texas Forum
Fort Hancock
Info Sought (prior to 1895)
Dear TE, In looking for anything that someone may have written on Fort Hancock
around 1885-95, I ran across your [magazine]. I got so caught up in reading other
peoples' adventures with Texas/Oklahoma that I forgot what I was originally looking
for. However, with a little pricking of the old gray matter I was able to recall
my original purpose: Fort Hancock and to find information on land, weather conditions,
and any other events of interest that may have gone on in the early days ...(PRIOR
to 1895.)
My grandmother, born 1844 in Norway, ended up at Fort Stockton
as a lone woman with a 10 year old son in 1880. By 1885 she was moving to (Fort
Rice) Fort Hancock and homesteading a piece of ground there. I have all the land
descriptions but don't know how to locate the area short of traveling to Fort
Hancock and looking at land records. I have tried finding information in the library
but not really the kind I was looking for. If you or any of your readers can fill
me in on the early years of the Fort and why a lone woman would want to end up
there? Truly enjoy reading your articles and responses. - Bee Foutz, October
25, 2006
Thank you for the
piece on Fort Hancock. I was raised there and can tell you that it is a great
place to grow up. If you can dig up some more information on Fort Hancock, I'd
like to read it. - Patricia W.
Just
wanted to ditto Patricia W's sentiment on Ft. Hancock. My family was stationed
there with the Border Patrol twice when I was a kid. Wonderful memories of incredible
people makes living in this tiny town the most influential experience of my life.
I think of you often. - Jan Penter
Fort
Hancock Area Hotels - Book Here & Save:
El
Paso Hotels | Van
Horn Hotels | |
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