Officer's Quarters 6 Hitching Block with Ring -- Old Fort Stockton, Fort Stockton TX
N 30° 53.312 W 102° 52.571
13R E 703010 N 3419180
This hitching block with a ring is located in front of Officers Quarters number 6 on the old fort at Fort Stockton
Waymark Code: WMTXBT
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/18/2017
Views: 3
Fort Stockton's Officers Quarters were built in 1868 when Fort Stockton was reoccupied by the United States Army after the Civil War. At that time, nine separate officers quarters were built of adobe, facing the parade ground. When the fort was abandoned in 1886 in several of the officers quarters were sold to become private homes. Today, only 3 of those officers quarters buildings still stand: OQs 5, 6, and 7.
OQ 6 was sold to a private owner but reacquired by the Pecos County Historical Commission in the 1930s. In 2016 OQ 6 is on the fort tour, and displays how an unmarried officer would have lived at Fort Stockton. The original hitching block and ring is still where the Army dropped it in 1868.
There is a small $4 fee to visit the fort and take the guided tour, which includes the buildings and a short video.
From the National Park Service: (
visit link)
"Fort Stockton was one of several U.S. Army outposts established on the western frontier of Texas in 1858. The site was the location of "Comanche Springs," a major source of water for local tribes and settlers. The fort provided protection for settlers, as well as the San Antonio-El Paso road. The buildings in the historic district represent a frontier settlement that developed around a military outpost. The fort and buildings thrived until the Civil War, when the fort was abandoned to Confederate forces. Buildings associated with the fort and early development of the community include: three adobe structures, constructed between 1867 and 1868, used as the Officers' Quarters; the Guardhouse, built in 1868; the 1894 Koehler store; the Grey Mule Saloon, constructed in the 1880s to serve the troops stationed at Fort Stockton; and the c.1900 Annie Riggs Hotel, an early frontier establishment.
The Fort Stockton Historic District is located at the east edge of the town of Fort Stockton off I-10. The Annie Riggs Hotel is operated as the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum at 301 S. Main St. and is open from 10:00am to 5:00pm Monday-Saturday, and from June-August also open Sunday 10:00am to 5:00pm."