Old Stone Fort Museum -- Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches TX
N 31° 37.159 W 094° 38.921
15R E 343623 N 3499420
The Old Stone Fort, built 1788-91 in downtown Nacogdoches, demolished 1902, stones rescued and preserved, then stones were recovered and the fort rebuilt on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College on 1936.
Waymark Code: WMXJBR
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/18/2018
Views: 6
The Old Stone Fort was built in 1779 by Antonio Gil Y'Barbo, and demolished in 1902. The remnants were given to the women of the Cum Concilio Club, who had tried in vain to save the historic building. In 1936, the state of Texas took the remnants and rebuilt the Old Stone Fort on the campus of what was then known as the Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College for use as a museum.
The state erected a bronze plaque at the site of the fortm which reads as follows:
"SITE OF THE HOME OF ANTONIO GIL Y'BARBO
1729 ... 1809
Founder of modern Nacogdoches in 1779.
This Spanish frontiersman matched wits with Spanish governors in the interest of the early settlers of this region. A leader of the people, he brought the exiles back.
Erected by the State of Texas
1936"
In 2018, the Old Stone Fort Museum is still going strong, and the original site of the fort is a 1960s-vintage bank building.
A 2008 historic marker at the Old Stone Fort Museum reads as follows:
OLD STONE FORT MUSEUM
Opening in 1936, the Stone Fort Museum has interpreted the history of East Texas and of the Old Stone Fort while also elevating the local historic preservation ethic. The Old Stone Fort, built in the late 18th century, was an integral part in a wide array of historic changes occurring in East Texas. The razing of the original building in 1902 caused consternation throughout the state and encouraged organizations to preserve other historic structures.
In 1908, the Cum Concilio Club, a local women's organization, opened a memorial building dedicated to the razed structure. By the 1930s, the Texas Centennial Advisory Board of Nacogdoches, along with the Nacogdoches Historical Society, proposed that the monument be replaced by a structure that more closely replicated the original building. A renewed interest in history, spurred by the upcoming centennial of Texas independence, aided the realization of the project. The Texas Centennial Commission approved the construction of the building on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (now Stephen F. Austin State University). Architect Hal B. Tucker designed the structure, and construction was completed by October 1936. Since then, museum staff have worked to interpret the history of the Old Stone Fort and of East Texas, with particular emphasis on the periods of Spanish and Mexican rule.
In 1992, work was completed on renovations to the museum building, meant to restore a higher degree of authenticity. Today, the Stone Fort Museum continues to serve Texas by interpreting East Texas history though exhibits, programs, and its housing in a replica of an important early Texas structure. (2008)
Marker is property of the state of Texas"
For more, see the Handbook of Texas: (
visit link)