Details for Fort Travis
Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5167007452
Data
| Marker Number | 7452 |
| Atlas Number | 5167007452 |
| Marker Title | Fort Travis |
| Index Entry | Fort Travis |
| Address | |
| City | Port Bolivar |
| County | Galveston |
| UTM Zone | 15 |
| UTM Easting | 329311 |
| UTM Northing | 3250129 |
| Subject Codes | military topics; World War II; World War I; Texas Revolution, Republic of Texas; forts |
| Marker Year | 1993 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark | No |
| Marker Location | Ft. Travis Park, Hwy. 87 |
| Private Property | No |
| Marker Condition | In Situ |
| Marker Size | 27" x 42" |
| Marker Text | In early 1836, soon after Texas declared independence from Mexico, Republic of Texas President David Burnet dispatched Colonel Ed Harcourt to Galveston Island to erect a fort. Using army recruits and slave labor Harcourt built an octagonal earth and timber fortification armed with six and twelve-pound gun mounts appropriated from the Texas Navy vessel CAYUGA. Named Fort Travis in honor of William B. Travis, famous defender of the Alamo, it was located at the east end of the island. After high winds damaged the fort in 1837 the site was converted into a gun battery called Fort point, its present name. In 1898-99, with the beginning of Federal development of the Port of Galveston, a second Fort Travis was established across Galveston Bay at Bolivar Point near the former site of a Civil War Confederate fortification called Fort Green. Two batteries, named Davis and Ernst, were completed in 1899 and a third, named Kimble, completed in 1922. Coastal defense facilities were added to the fort during World Wars I and II. Fort Travis was decommissioned and sold as war surplus in 1949. Besides its obvious military uses, Fort Travis also served as a refuge from hurricanes and as a Civil Defense shelter for area residents. Incise on back: Funding for this replacement marker was provided through a generous grant from the Hoblitzelle Foundation and the Texas Historical Foundation. |