Burnet’s Fort Croghan comes to bygone life for annual history celebration
Florence Reeves re-enacts life in the early settlement days of Burnet during last year's Fort Croghan Day. Courtesy photo
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BURNET — Often in today’s hustle and bustle, history only makes an appearance during a high school class or a Hollywood biopic.
But people can discover how history still lives and remains relevant, even among modern technology such as cell phones, Skype and Instagram, with a trip into the past during Fort Croghan Day on Oct. 12.
The event is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the fort, 703 Buchanan Drive (Texas 29 West.) Admission is free, but donations are welcomed.
“I’ve always enjoyed history, so the fort and the history behind it is interesting to me already,” said Buddy Inman, president of the Burnet County Heritage Society. “But on Fort Croghan Day, people can actually experience what pioneers to this area — and around Texas — faced day to day.”
Fort Croghan gave birth to the community, and maybe even Burnet County. Inman explained the government christened the structure Fort Croghan in 1849. But, before becoming a federal fort and Company A of the Second Dragoon taking up residence, the location served as a waypoint for the Texas Rangers as early as 1847. At that time, it was called McCulloch’s Station.
With the presence of the Texas Rangers, and later the U.S. Army, early pioneers began settling near Fort Croghan.
“Burnet really grew up around the fort,” Inman said. “It’s possible that, had it not been for Fort Croghan, Burnet may not have been established.”[box]IF YOU GO
WHAT: Fort Croghan Day
WHEN: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 12
WHERE: Fort Croghan, 703 Buchanan Drive (Texas 29 West) in Burnet
FOR MORE: www.fortcroghan.org[/box]
A few years after Fort Croghan opened, the state recognized a new county: Burnet County. The federal government abandoned the fort in 1853 because authorities believed the population was large enough and capable enough to hold off Native American incursions.
But the fort’s role in history wasn’t finished. During the Civil War, members of the Confederate Army used the fort to train soldiers and store gun powder, Inman said.
“There are two original buildings still on the grounds, and one of them is the powder house,” he said. “That’s where the soldiers stored the powder they made over in Longhorn Cavern.”
On Fort Croghan Day, the Burnet County Heritage Society is bringing in a variety of re-enactors and living history groups.
“They’ll be demonstrating and giving exhibitions portraying people going about their daily lives during the early settlements,” Inman said.
While years have passed since the establishment of Fort Croghan and the early settlements, Inman said the stories of the soldiers and the pioneers remain relevant.
“I think it’s important to understand the hardships and struggles of our ancestors,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for them, we wouldn’t be here right now. I believe there’s a lot we can learn from their sacrifice and hard work.”
Go to www.fortcroghan.org for more information.
daniel@thepicayune.com