Old Fort Parker Restoration

Old Fort Parker is a restoration of Parker's Fort which was one of the earliest settlements in Texas.  It was established by brothers Silas M. and James W. Parker 1n 1834.  Parker's Fort was built for defense of surrounding settlers against attacks by Native American tribes. The fort was built close to the Navasota River near the town of present day Groesbeck, TX.  It was a stockade style fort with block houses in two corners and cabins built inside the fort.  It was  important to the Texas Independence movement and was used a recruiting station for volunteers for the Army of Texas.  It was also one of the first sites in Texas to recruit Texas Rangers and they often used it as a command post and bivouac area.


On May 19, 1836 the fort was attacked by a band of about 500 Comanche, Kiowa, Wichita and Caddo Indians.  Most settlers were in the fields and were unable to arrive in time to mount a defense of the fort.  When the Indians attacked there was not enough time to close the large front gate.  During the attack five men were killed and two women and three children were captured.  The most famous of the captured was a child Cynthia Ann Parker.  She lived with the Comanche for twenty five years until she was rescued by Texas Rangers led by Captain Sul Ross.  During her captivity Sarah married a Comanche Chief and gave birth to two son's.  One son was Quanah Parker who became the last of the great Comanche war chiefs.  More history can be found at:                http://www.oldfortparker.org/   

Over the years the fort was abandoned and fell into disuse and decay.  In 1936, as part of it's centennial celebration, Texas had the fort rebuilt by Civilian Conservation Corp.  It was rebuilt according to original draws of the fort.  From the time it was restored until 1992 it was operated by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.  It was turned over to the City of Groesbeck with the formation of the Fort Parker Historical Society.  Old Fort Parker receives no funding from the State of Texas, except through small grants, from time to time.

Old Fort Parker needs help again.  A group of volunteers called The Friends of Old Fort Parker have taken it upon themselves to repair and restore parts of the fort. Some are repairing the cabin roofs, some are working on plumbing and electrical, some are removing overgrowth and sprucing the grounds up. Glenda (Deidre) and David Davidson have taken on the chore of replacing the corral fence, inside the fort.  Total length of the fence is 200 feet.  The plan is to rebuild it in the same style as the original.  Glenda and David have located a source where they can get rustic fence rails and posts at a deep discount.  But there is still some cost for the fencing materials.  There is also cost for other materials such as gravel, sand and concrete.  There is also a cost for equipment rental.

So we are asking our friends to become Friends of Old Fort Parker by donating enough money to purchase the fencing and other materials.  Right now the fencing supplier is holding the materials for us without a deposit, but we don't know how long they will continue to hold it.  We would also like to get the other materials and supplies by April 18, 2018.  We have another work day scheduled toward the end of April and we would like to have all the materials purchased and on site by then.

This is your chance to help restore a piece of Texas History and even become part of Texas History yourself.  Please help us in this effort to keep Texas history alive by donating and then visiting Old Fort Parker.  They would be thrilled to see you.  

Thanks to all of you.