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Texas: East, North Central, Panhandle and South Plains and West » North Central Texas » Fort Griffin to Comanche » Fort Griffin and Griffin (Shackelford County) » Fort Griffin State Historic Site

Fort Griffin State Historic Site

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1867 established. 1701 U.S. 283

Stone buildings were originally planned around the central parade ground, but picket, log, and frame structures were built instead, often with tent roofs. Only stone foundations and chimneys remain today. About ninety structures were built from the elm and sycamore that grew along the Brazos River banks, and the wood was dressed using a portable sawmill. In 1935, Shackelford County acquired the fort site and donated it to the State of Texas for a park. In 1939–1940 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 3803 built campgrounds, roads, and culverts. The Texas Historical Commission assumed responsibility for the historic site in 2009. A portion of the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd now grazes on the site. A visitor center (2014, Cotera+Reed Architects) consists of two limestone-clad enclosures joined by a dramatically cantilevered canopy, spatially evoking both the dogtrot buildings and porches of historic vernacular architecture.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Gerald Moorhead et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Fort Griffin Brazos River Bridge

Citation

Gerald Moorhead et al., "Fort Griffin State Historic Site", [Albany, Texas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TX-02-FC1.

Print Source

Buildings of Texas

Buildings of Texas: East, North Central, Panhandle and South Plains, and West, Gerald Moorhead and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019, 284-284.

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