Fort Crockett
Fort Crockett | |
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Galveston, Texas, United States | |
Coordinates | 29°16′29″N 94°49′01″W / 29.27472°N 94.81694°W |
Area | 40 acres (160,000 m2) |
Site information | |
Owner | US NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service |
Site history | |
Built | 1903 |
Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlooking the
History
A military facility of the
During the First World War, Fort Crockett served as a US Army artillery training center. Troops bound for France were trained in the use of several types of artillery.
During the 1920s and early 1930s, Fort Crockett housed the United States Army Air Corps' (USAAC) 3rd Attack Group (an ancestor to USAF's 3rd Wing). At this time, the 3rd Attack Group was the only USAAC group devoted solely to attack aircraft. In 1932, Fort Crocket received eleven A-8 Shrike attack aircraft, the US military's very first all-metal monowing combat aircraft this delivery constituted the first delivery of this aircraft to a forward operational unit. After 1934, the 3rd Attack group was relocated to Barksdale, Louisiana.[1]
During the Second World War, Fort Crockett was expanded with an additional large gun battery, and focus was placed on defense against German U-boats. Additionally, the fort served as a German
Following the war, Fort Crockett served for several years as an army recreational center.[3] In addition to the attractions on the base itself (tennis, golf, etc.), the city of Galveston was a major tourist destination with a variety of attractions, thus making the location ideal.
In the 1950s, Fort Crockett became home for fisheries research for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
In 1958 Texas A&M Marine Lab came to occupy part of the former army barracks. In 1963, the largest of the buildings in the Fort Crockett complex was renovated to house the new Texas Maritime Academy of Texas A&M University (Now called the Texas A&M Maritime Academy).[4][5]
Due to the massive amount of concrete used in constructing the protective casemate for the guns and magazines, Battery Hoskins proved uneconomical to remove. The abandoned casemates remained an unofficial tourist attraction for decades. In the early 1980s, a luxury resort (the San Luis Resort) was built on and behind the battery. The massive concrete gun emplacements remain dramatically visible from the seawall highway that runs along Galveston Beach, even though one gun emplacement now sports a swimming pool atop it, and the other gun emplacement is adorned with a wedding gazebo.
Defensive facilities of Galveston Bay
Fort Travis | |
Texas State Antiquities Landmark | |
Location | SH 87 at Loop 108, Port Bolivar, Texas |
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Coordinates | 29°21′53″N 94°45′29″W / 29.36472°N 94.75806°W |
Area | 70 acres (28 ha) |
Built | 1898 |
NRHP reference No. | 05000247[6] |
TSAL No. | 8200001368 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | March 30, 2005 |
Designated TSAL | January 1, 1984 |
During the Texas Revolution, Galveston harbor and the entrance to Galveston Bay was secured by a small fortification located at the north east side of Galveston Island, which corresponds to the west side of Bolivar Roads, the entrance to the bay. This was originally named
In the late 19th century, the entrance to Galveston Bay was secured by two new fortifications, one on each side of the mouth of the bay, as the
At the end of the 19th century, Fort Crockett was established as headquarters for all three facilities. Located west of the city of Galveston, its long-range guns could command the entire area. By the first half of the 20th century, Fort Crockett had the basic equipment believed needed to defend the Galveston area from attack from air or sea.
Coastal artillery batteries at Fort Crockett
From 1924 through 1940, HD Galveston was garrisoned by Battery G,
Coastal artillery batteries at Fort San Jacinto
Additional companies of Coast Artillery were stationed at Fort San Jacinto, located on the north-east tip of Galveston Island, commanding the southern portion of the entrance to Galveston Bay. Battery Mercer contained 12-inch mortars. Battery Heileman contained two 10-inch "disappearing" guns. Battery Hogan contained two 4.7-inch (119 mm) guns, and Battery Croghan contained two 3-inch (76 mm) guns. Battery #235 contained 6-inch (152 mm) guns and another battery contained 90 mm guns.
Coastal artillery batteries at Fort Travis
One additional company of Coast Artillery was stationed at Fort Travis, located at Bolivar Point, commanding the northern side of the entrance to Galveston Bay. Battery Kimble contained two 12-inch (305 mm) guns. Battery Davis contained two 8-inch (203 mm) guns. Battery Ernst contained two 3-inch (76 mm) guns. These batteries were supported by various fire-control structures, and radar in the 1940s. Fort Travis was served by a spur track until the Santa Fe Railway abandoned its Bolivar Peninsula trackage in 1942.
See also
- 13th Coast Artillery (United States)
- 20th Coast Artillery (United States)
- List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Galveston County, Texas
References
- ^ Note: Colonel Horace Meek Hickam, commanding officer of the 3d Attack Group, was killed in a landing accident at Fort Crockett on 5 November 1934.
- ISBN 0812825713.
- ^ "Historic Fort Crockett". NOAA Fisheries: Galveston Laboratory. Retrieved Jul 18, 2017.
- ISBN 1-58544-458-8.
- ^ "History of TAMUG". www.tamug.edu. 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, Coast Defense Journal, vol. 23, issue 2, pp. 13-14
External links
- Harbor Defenses of Galveston at the Coast Defense Study Group website
- "Coastal Fortification on the Gulf of Mexico - Fort Crockett". Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
- "Coastal Fortification on the Gulf of Mexico - Fort Travis". Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
- "Pictures of an operational battery similar to Battery Hoskins". Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
- "NOAA's Heritage Success Story - Fort Crockett". Archived from the original on December 11, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
- "History of Fort Crockett". Retrieved February 28, 2013.
- "Handbook of Texas - Fort Crockett". Retrieved November 30, 2006.