Black’s ‘fort’ unusual for area’s relics

In 1936, the year of the Texas Centennial, the state commissioned, erected and dedicated the first of many history markers in every county. One of the large gray granite markers in Burnet County was for Black’s Fort, about nine miles north of Bertram on CR 210A.

It was not a military outpost, and the name “fort” was probably used by the locals as a description of the house, rather than an actual fortification. But the monument was erected and the history has been written.

The remains of the stone house and corrals, the cedar spring house and the beautiful bois d’arc and pecan trees can be seen from the road on the privately owned property. William and China Ross Black came to Dallas from Arkansas after the state joined the Union in 1845, then they bought land in Williamson County before moving west. According to Burnet County deed records, they purchased the land in 1859 and in the 1860 census they are listed as having seven children — four daughters and three sons ranging in age from 22 to 4 years. The Blacks specialized in raising fine horses and mules.

They built a house with 2-foot wide rock walls, constructed with small holes in the walls for rifles to be fired without opening windows or doors. There was a stone corral erected, with high, thick walls with portholes and sentry posts at each corner to protect their animals. 

This was unusual for the area. Most of the early settlers built wooden structures of cedar or oak —  another reason why the name “Black’s Fort” might have been used more by the early settlers to identify the house, rather than an actual point of defense. The road that runs past the fort is a remnant of the old Burnet to Belton stage and freight line. 

The rock walls were not enough to protect the family’s livelihood. According to a presentation written for the marker dedication in 1936 by a descendant, Woodie Black Spore, the family lost much of their prized livestock to American Indians in spite of the extra fortification. At the time of the writing there was one living family member still at the fort, Henry Y. Black, who was 11 years old in 1860. He told of many occasions when his father tried to hide or hobble the animals to keep them from being stolen during the full-moon raiding sessions, but the Indians were usually successful at stealing the horses and mules.

According to another reporting of Henry Black’s story told by Katherine A. Loucks in “Williamson County Texas: Its History and Its People,” the family moved to Hornsby’s Bend, southeast of Austin at the beginning of the Civil War where the family and the livestock would be safer. Both William and Henry Black served in the Confederate Army, but after the war and massive flooding on the Colorado River in 1869 and again in 1870, the family moved to Williamson County.

But the “fort” still stood. The stone buildings remained a safe dwelling for women and children who were left in the area during the Civil War, and the turbulent Reconstruction period that followed.

In 1991, I received a call from my mother Estelle Bryson, who was the chairwoman of the Burnet County Historical Commission. She had received a call from George L. Black of Tampa, Fla. He was the grandson of Henry Black. He had heard stories about the stone fortress his grandfather had lived in as a boy, and he contacted my mother to see if she knew about Black’s Fort and where it was located. She knew exactly where it was; about one mile due south of her home, north of Joppa. She asked me join her while she conducted the tour for the descendant. After gaining permission from the owner to cross the locked gate, we walked the site on a hot August afternoon.

His grandfather lived to be 87 and was still a state land surveyor in 1936, but unfortunately he suffered heat stroke in early July of that year and died. His funeral was held in Pittsburg on July 10, 1936, the day the marker in Burnet County was dedicated. But on this day in 1991, his grandson was finally happy to explore the stone remains and walk in the cool, shaded sanctuary of Black’s Fort.

My mother told him that when she was a teenager she remembered his great-uncle, Jim Black, who was living in Round Rock. He would visit her grandfather Levi B. Asher in their home just a few miles to the southeast of the fort. She was young and not too interested in the stories the two elder men talked about, except for one.

It seems that one time when all the men were gone, the young Uncle Jim fell and broke his arm. His mother was not going to leave the protection of the “fort” to take the boy to a doctor or have one brought in to administer medical attention, so she proceeded to set the arm. 

One of his older sisters sat on him, while his mother tied on a splint from sticks taken from the bois d’arc trees by the spring house.

Mother said that Uncle Jim was probably in his 70s when he told the story and his daughter had recently insisted he have an X-Ray made of the old injury. The physician reported that the bone was perfectly set.

Black’s Fort may not have been the site of any heroic blood-letting battles. Some have said the historical marker should have never been posted because nothing ever really happened on the site that was noteworthy. I disagree.

Something did happen in that very turbulent time in our county’s history. For one thing, the strong stone buildings and corrals provided security and safety to the settlers.

The bois d’arc and pecan trees still remain in this little oasis of frontier history. It can be found by taking either FM 963 out of Burnet for about nine miles and turning right on FM 1174, and then going about two miles and turning left on CR 210A. If you drive out of Bertram on 1174 north, 210A is about nine miles up the road. The fort is on private property, but the remains of the stone buildings and corral can be seen from the county road, as well as the 1936 gray granite historical marker.

While traveling 210A before reaching the fort, you might want to stop at the historic Stickling Cemetery and view the old headstones.

Bryson is a former Highland Lakes reporter who lives in north Burnet County. E-mail her at oliverplaceranch.com.