San Angelo. 21st October 2025.
Situated in the downtown area of San Angelo, Fort Concho was established in 1867 to protect travellers through the “Indian Lands”. It housed around 4-500 enlisted men and around 30-40 officers.
My idea of a US Calvary fort comes from watching movies and TV as a child and I thought they would all be surrounded by a wooden fence from which the soldiers could fire at approaching enemies. There was no such fence at this fort for two main reasons, firstly it was built on flat land where you could see anyone coming for miles and secondly it was unusual for Indians to attack large groups of soldiers preferring to prey on small travelling groups.
The enlisted men’s barracks were on one side of a wide parade ground separated from the officers houses on the other side. The men’s barracks and mess rooms were crowded……
and basic compared to the relative luxury of the officers quarters.
The hospital building showed some basic medical care for the soldiers………..
but the use of the Crotch Powder ( that apparently proves serviceable for all kinds ailments) perhaps indicates the extent of expertise.
Also on the site was an exhibition of various wagons, harnesses and other military equipment.
Fort Concho was also a main base for the Buffalo Soldiers that I had only known previously in the song by Bob Marley. The term applies to the African-Americans who served in the forces after the end of the Civil War.
Many were freed slaves who still suffered extreme prejudice in civilian life so joining the Calvary offered a better life style. Although still subjected to abuse, they were paid the same as their fellow white soldiers something that would not be the case in the outside world. It is thought they got given the name by the local Comanche Indians due to their fighting tenacity similar to that of buffaloes.
An excellent way to spend a morning in the sunshine.
Also on the site was a telephone museum housed in one of the officers houses. This contained an assortment of handsets and exchange equipment which once again was very interesting.
San Angelo is an easy city to drive around so it was a quick return to the car and down the road to the Old Downtown area to visit the eclectic general store called Eggemeyers.
Inside was a range of foods, kitchen equipment, toys , in fact most everything you could think of.
After spending a good while looking around we felt it was time for a spot of lunch, luckily just across the road was Miss Hattie’s restaurant.
Miss Hattie was a famous bordello owner ( more about that tomorrow) and the restaurant is named in her honour and suitably decorated.
The meals were large and very tasty, Sylvia had meatloaf ………
and I went for the chicken fried chicken.
No room for pudding though.
Throughout San Angelo are a number of sheep statues that are all very colourfully decorated. Here are just a couple.
A short visit to the tourist information centre followed, picking up leaflets to give us more ideas on places to visit. A fantastic first day in San Angelo.