DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one doin' the talkin' here — I'm just along to help you hear it. Six miles east of where you're rolling right now, there's a piece of ground that once held something worth knowing about. Back in November of 1836, a unit of some twenty Rangers rode out and built themselves a stockade and blockhouse for the Republic of Texas.
Their commanding officer was Lieutenant George B. Erath — soldier, statesman, and the man for whom Erath County was named. Now picture what those twenty men accomplished before the calendar turned.
By Christmas of 1836, they had raised seven or eight cabins, a blockhouse, and a picket stockade enclosing about half an acre of land. In a matter of weeks, out of raw Texas wilderness, they had something you could actually call a fort. Life inside those walls wasn't exactly luxurious.
A spring nearby kept them in water — and they were grateful for it. Rations ran to an ear of corn a day, whatever game they could take, honey, and a little coffee. That's it.
That's the menu. You'd have earned every sip of that coffee. The Rangers withdrew around May of 1837.
But Little River Fort didn't sit empty and forgotten right away. Settlers came through. Hunters used it.
Adventurers passed by and found it useful. The place had a second life after the men who built it had moved on. Then, sometime in the 1840s, the remains of the structures were removed.
Whatever those walls had weathered, whatever fires had burned, whatever stories had been whispered inside that half-acre stockade — gone. The ground took it all back. Twenty Rangers.
One hard winter. Half an acre of Republic of Texas standing against everything the frontier had to offer. Six miles that way.
What the marker says
A stockade and blockhouse of the Republic of Texas. Built in November, 1836, by a unit of some 20 Rangers under Lt. George B. Erath (soldier-statesman for whom Erath County was named). By Christmas they had erected 7 or 8 cabins, a blockhouse and a picket stockade, which enclosed about 1/2 acre of land. A spring nearby supplied water. Rations included an ear of corn daily, game, honey and a little coffee. The Rangers withdrew about May, 1837. Later the fort was used by settlers, hunters and adventurers. The remains of the structures were removed, 1840's. (1969)