HISTORIC FORT CONCHO IN SAN ANGELO

Saturday, April 30 – We did NOTHING! Rode our bikes, took a hike, sat outside, ate Pizza Rolls and watched the Indians win! Perfect day.

This is our favorite bird. The Double-Tailed Fly Catcher. Look how long the tail is. It is so fast…amazed we got this picture.

Sunday, May 1 – WOW….. has the weather changed. Yesterday we had 100 degrees, and now today it is 55 with winds that could get as high as 50 mph. Crazy.

We were at the busiest Laundromat we have ever seen. People just kept coming and going. We were seated right next to the gal that works the desk and could not believe what they charge to do people’s laundry. One gentleman brought in his laundry…one basket and one carry-in pile…$67.00. He then gave her a $10 tip. She said it was so expensive because he had so many jeans. They charge by the pound. We were amazed!

We all know what a BIG fan Marsha is of the Cleveland Indians. A gentleman seated next to us noticed she had on a Cleveland Indians Spring Training t-shirt. He told us that he used to be one of the cooks from 1973-79 for the team when they did spring training in Tucson. We asked him how many autographs he got. He looked, smiled and said NONE. Marsha just about lost it. He said he never even thought about it. He was a Boston Red Sox fan. How do you like that, Ed and Linda? One of your kind.

Do you know what this is?

It is mistletoe. It grows in the Mesquite trees in this area. Pretty neat to see it growing on the tree next to our MH.

Flashback to Friday -  Our last visit was the Historic Fort Concho. Founded in 1867 as a frontier outpost to protect early Texans against unfriendly Indians, it is now a National Historic Landmark. Fort Concho served as regimental headquarters for some of the most famous frontier units like the 4th and 10th Cavalry. Seventeen buildings on the fort grounds have been restored and offer a glimpse at life in early San Angelo.

We toured the Museum first. We watched a short movie about the Fort which was very informative. Marsha found some interesting items.

This quilt was made in 1897 from ties. This picture is for Marsha’s friend, Louise, who makes beautiful quilts.

Did you know that General George McClellan, Union Army officer during the Civil War, was responsible for the design of the military saddle. This saddle became the standard issue saddle for the US Army from 1859-1943.

This item is a man’s harness used for harnessing men to the tongue of the cannon when horses could not be used to maneuver in tight quarters.  It was 18 ft. in length and usually took ten men to pull one cannon or piece of equipment.

Constructed for the most part of native limestone, Fort Concho consisted of at least forty buildings and covered more than 1600 acres.  This is the main drill field.  See the surrounding buildings.  Notice how dry the grass is in west Texas.

One of the cannons.

Paul explains how the cannon is attached to this piece for hauling. Yes it is a bit windy! Hold on to your hat Paul.

Enlisted Men's Barrack - August 1869.  Each of the barracks was built for two squadrons of men.   Each squadron room was 82' long with a sally port (bathroom) between the rooms. A single company occupied each squadron room.

Behind all barracks were the company mess halls.

The Adjutant Officer was the administrative assistant to the commanding officer of the post.

The Clerk and Orderly room served as the main business and record office for the post.

They actually had one room dedicated to Court Martial cases.

The Hospital was the first and finest building to be built.

Looks like cleaning up cat litter.

The Officer’s Quarters were actually pretty nice.

The School/Chapel was the last building built. It doubled as the school during the week and place of worship on the weekend.

We had a nice visit stepping back in time. We are glad we didn’t have to live during this time.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya’ll back real soon. Have a great day!