Fort Phantom Hill - Abilene, TX
Posted by: QuesterMark
N 32° 38.542 W 099° 40.751
14S E 436298 N 3611844
Fort Phantom Hill was a United States Army (1852 to 1853) and Confederate Army (1861-1865) installation located at the Clear Fork of the Brazos River in Jones County, Texas.
Waymark Code: WM10JW8
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/18/2019
Views: 6
Fort Phantom Hill was never officially named; military records usually refer to it as the "Post on the Clear Fork of the Brazos."
Fort Phantom Hill was one of the second line of forts laid out in the early 1850s to protect the westward-moving frontier of Texas settlement. Lt. Col. John J. Abercrombie arrived at the Clear Fork of the Brazos in the area of present Jones County with five companies of the Fifth Infantry on November 14, 1851, and construction began. A suitable stone quarry was located on Elm Creek about two miles south. Blackjack oak logs for the officers' quarters and hospital had to be brought in by ox wagon from as far away as forty miles. The company quarters and other buildings were of jacal construction. All of the buildings had stone chimneys, but only the magazine, guardhouse, and commissary storehouse were built entirely of stone. The location was far from ideal, and water sources were unreliable. The Army abandoned the post in April, 1856, and it was seen to be burning before the troops, headed for El Paso, were out of sight. In 1858, what was left of the fort was used, after some repairs, as a way station for the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Line.
Units of the Confederate Army used the Fort as a base of operations during the Civil War. In 1871, it became a sub-post of Fort Griffin. In the 1870's a town grew up around the Fort, but when the railroad passed it by, the town evaporated.
In 1928, the property was acquired by John Guitar of Abilene. In 1969, the property was deeded to the Fort Phantom Foundation to ensure its preservation. Now the site includes three intact stone buildings (powder magazine, guardhouse, and the commissary).
The name, Fort Phantom Hill, may have come from the way the hill seemed to disappear as one approaches from a distance or maybe from something a nervous sentry shot at: what appeared to be "an Indian", evidence of which was never found.
National Register Nomination File (Texas Historical Commission Atlas): (
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