DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Stone Fort Museum in Nacogdoches County. Now, some stories begin with a building going up. This one begins with one coming down — and the trouble that followed.
The Old Stone Fort was built in the late eighteenth century, and for generations it stood as a fixture in East Texas, wrapped up in a wide array of historic changes rolling through that part of the state. Then, in 1902, it was razed. Gone.
And that act of demolition sent a wave of consternation clear across Texas. People were upset — genuinely, deeply upset — and that feeling didn't just fade. It lit a fire under organizations across the state to start preserving other historic structures before the same thing could happen to them.
Right there in Nacogdoches, a local women's organization called the Cum Concilio Club refused to let the memory of the Old Stone Fort just vanish into the dirt. In 1908, they opened a memorial building dedicated to the structure that had been razed. That was no small thing.
That was a community saying: we remember, and we mean to keep remembering. But memory has a way of growin' more particular with time. By the 1930s, the Texas Centennial Advisory Board of Nacogdoches and the Nacogdoches Historical Society looked at that memorial and decided it wasn't quite enough.
They proposed replacing the monument with something that more closely replicated the original building. Something you could stand in front of and feel the weight of the real thing. And the moment was right.
A renewed interest in history — spurred by the upcoming centennial of Texas independence — was building like weather on the horizon, and that energy aided the realization of the project. The Texas Centennial Commission approved construction on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College, the institution now known as Stephen F.
Austin State University. Architect Hal B. Tucker designed the structure, and by October of 1936, construction was complete.
That same year, 1936, the Stone Fort Museum opened its doors. Since then, the museum has devoted itself to interpreting the history of the Old Stone Fort and of East Texas, with particular emphasis on the periods of Spanish and Mexican rule. In 1992, renovations were completed on the building itself — work meant to restore a higher degree of authenticity to the replica.
So here's where we land: a building torn down in 1902 sparked enough outrage to change how Texas thought about preservation. A women's club kept the flame alive in 1908. The centennial spirit brought a proper replica to life by 1936.
And the Stone Fort Museum has been telling that story — through exhibits, through programs, through the very walls around it — ever since. In Nacogdoches, even the museum is part of the history it's tryin' to preserve.
What the marker says
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)