Fort Travis - Port Bolivar, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 29° 22.010 W 094° 45.445
15R E 329421 N 3249911
Located along the Gulf of Mexico and close to Galveston and the Houston ship channel, Fort Travis was used as a defensive facility from 1898 until 1943.
Waymark Code: WM11CHJ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2019
Views: 5
From the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form:
Fort Travis (Fort Travis Seashore Park) is the most complete concentration of coastal artillery batteries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Constructed between 1898 and 1943, the fort is on the southern tip of the Bolivar Peninsula and contains four principal batteries, one concrete observation post, an anti-aircraft gun emplacement, and the remains of seven concrete foundations, two concrete water tanks, one storage shed, a mobile home (used as an office), and a caretaker's house. Fort Travis originally featured enlisted men's barracks, officer quarters, and other ancillary structures. Although the historical properties at Fort Travis are at different levels of deterioration, they still retain their overall architectural and historical integrity. Batteries Davis, Ernst, Kimble and No. 236 represent three distinctive historical periods in the military history of coastal defense fortifications, and the construction and placement of the batteries exemplify military strategies and technologies typical of the period when they were constructed.
Fort Travis Seashore Park is located on 70 acres of the southern end of Bolivar Peninsula facing the Gulf Coast in Galveston County, Texas. Old Highway 87 ran through part of the fort, and a portion of the brick road remains. The area was raised approximately 17 feet with dredged soil when the seawall was constructed after the Storm of 1900. The natural soils of the area are composed primarily of medium to fine sand with interbedded lenses of marine shell overlying sand, silt, and clay deposits. The climate of the region is classified as modified humid subtropical, characterized by hot summers and mild winters. The vegetation specific to the area is consistent with the Marsh/Barrier Island vegetation community, consisting primarily of bluesteem switchgrass, Florida paspalum and brownseed paspalum
Summary of Criteria
Fort Travis is nominated to the National Register under Criterion A and C, in the areas of Military and Engineering, because it represents a time when a military attack to the coasts of the United States was a very real threat, as well as the changing strategies and technologies applied to coastal defense between the 1890s and 1940s. Fort Travis embodies the characteristics of three periods in the history of coastal fortifications. Batteries Davis and Ernst are typical of the Endicott period and show characteristics that were introduced in the construction of coastal fortifications at that time, including the use of concrete as the primary material and the placement of the batteries. Battery Kimble is typical of Post World War I coastal fortifications, in the use of Panama gun emplacements, its encasement in permanent earthworks and concrete, and location away from the shore. Battery 236 is typical of World War II era coastal fortifications, as it is completely encased in permanent earthworks and concrete, and it featured a chemical filtration system, generators and other facilities which would allow the battery to function independently from other batteries within the fort.
Fort Travis is nominated at the state level for its role in protecting two of the most strategically sensitive areas of Texas - the Port of Galveston and the lower terminus of the Houston Ship Channel - and as the last intact fortification of its type on the Texas gulf coast. Nearby Fort San Jacinto has fallen into serious disrepair and has been partially destroyed leaving only one gun emplacement partially intact, thus losing much of its overall integrity. Although Corpus Christi was protected by a small set of batteries in Port Aransas, the major coastal fortifications in Texas during the periods in question were built in or around the Galveston area.
While Criterion D is not claimed in this nomination, Fort Travis is likely to contain numerous archaeological sites , including the remains of Fort Green, a Confederate installation. Original plans of the fort before the seawall was constructed indicate several buildings and a small network of railroad lines that linked batteries Davies and Ernst, and other buildings. Although Fort Travis never fired its guns in defense of Galveston Bay, activity within the fort, as with any historical or archaeological site, is likely to have deposited material remains, which eventually could have been buried. This material remains is likely to yield information that can contribute to the history of the area, the fort, and the activities its personnel conducted within the fort. Very little subsurface disturbance has occurred since Galveston County Beach and Parks Department acquired the fort. There is a strong possibility that materials remain in situ, which could contribute to the historical understanding of the fort. Personal interviews with park caretakers indicate that there are possible tunnels and buried military equipment within the park. At the same time, there are seven large foundations within one of the barrack areas of the fort. Excavations around this area could yield artifacts that could help in understanding behavior of the personnel that lived in the fort and manned the batteries.
Several venues of archaeological studies should be conducted at Fort Travis Seashore Park. The location of Fort Green could be tested through remote sensing or archival means. The park area should be systematically surveyed to determine the complete layout of this military installation throughout its history, as archival records are sporadic regarding the exact layout. Oral history indicates that tunnels and possible military equipment was buried on several locations within the park, and existence of these tunnels or military equipment could be determined through remote sensing. Also through a systematic survey of the park, life within the military installation could be examined. Everyday items buried within the site can give us an insight into the life of the personnel that lived at the fort.
Contributing Structures include:
Battery Davis - 1898 (alt. 1903)
Battery Ernst - 1898 (alt. 1903)
Battery Kimble - 1921
Battery #236 - 1943
Forward Observation Station - 1942
Anti-Aircraft Emplacement - ca.1918
Keeper's House - 1940
Old Highway 87 (brick road) - ca. 1920
Water tank 1 - ca.1940
Water tank 2 - ca.1940
12 building foundations - ca. 1940
Non-Contributing Structures (all from 1975)
Storage Shed
Parks Office (mobile home)
Cabana Building
Bathrooms