Fort Clark: From Army Post to Private Community

Fort Clark was established on June 20, 1852, at Las Moras Springs. It was set up to guard the Mexican border and protect the military road to El Paso. The post was renamed from Fort Riley to Fort Clark to honor Major John B. Clark, who had died after serving in the Mexican War. The nearby supply village that grew up around it was founded by Oscar B. Brackett — that town became Brackettville and later the county seat of Kinney County.

The fort was home to the Black Seminole scouts from 1872 to 1914 and to Buffalo Soldier regiments. Col. George S. Patton served there in 1938. The post was inactivated in early 1946. In 1979 Fort Clark was entered on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is a private recreation and retirement community covering about 2,700 acres. The historic buildings are largely intact. The Handbook of Texas (tshaonline.org) is the main sourced reference for the fort's full history.