Fort Phantom Hill
National Register of Historic Places

Fort Phantom Hill

Abilene, Jones County, Texas
Listed
September 13, 1972
Type
Site
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
72001367

About this property

Fort Phantom Hill, also called the Camp on the Clear Fork, is a former United States Army installation located in Jones County, Texas. The fort was established in 1851 as part of a line of forts in Texas to protect migrants passing through the state on their way to California. The US Army abandoned the fort in 1854 and it was shortly thereafter mostly destroyed by fire. In 1858, it became a station of the Butterfield-Overland Mail route until it moved out of Texas with the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. During the war, the fort was occupied by Confederate frontier troops until the Confederacy's defeat and surrender. Following the US Army's return to Texas after the Civil War, Fort Phantom Hill was used as a subpost of the larger, newer Fort Griffin until 1875. After its final abandonment in 1875, a town was established at Fort Phantom Hill that flourished in the 1870s and ceased to exist by 1900. Following the fort's purchase by John Guitar in 1928, there was renewed public interest in the fort that led to its opening to the public in 1972. In 1997, Fort Phantom Hill was transferred to the Fort Phantom Hill Foundation. The ruins of the fort were added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1972.

Location

Abilene, Jones County, Texas
32.64430, -99.67905

Categories

HISTORIC - NON-ABORIGINALMILITARYSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Caldwell Hall
Industrial
12 mi
Higginbotham, J. G., House
Industrial
12.3 mi
Abilene Christian College Administration Building
Industrial
12.4 mi
Luce Hall
Industrial
12.4 mi
Fritz, David C. and Docia, House
Industrial
12.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Fort Phantom Hill listed on the National Register?

Fort Phantom Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Fort Phantom Hill?

Fort Phantom Hill is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Fort Phantom Hill?

The period of significance for Fort Phantom Hill is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1851.

Can I research the history near Fort Phantom Hill?

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