20 Underrated Historic Spots in Texas for Curious Travelers

These are quieter spots, forts, missions, homes, battlegrounds, the Alamo or San Jacinto that draw crowds . These tell just as much about Texas's past , if not more . I've visited most myself . I've talked to locals and historians about others and put together a list that's worth your time .

If you're into history and travel , I'll give you the history on each place , some unique facts , notable people who were there and a few interesting things nearby today . So stay tuned .

Texas is a big state with a huge history Native tribes going back thousands of years , Spanish settlers in the 1700s , the fight for independence in the 1830s , the Civil War and the growth after that . The famous sites get all the visitors , but these 20 are different .

They're spread across the state , from the deserts of West Texas to the Gulf Coast , and they show parts of the past that don't always make it into the guidebooks . Some are ruins from the frontier days . Some are preserved homes from key figures , others are battlefields or old military posts that shaped what Texas

became . They're not crowded , they don't have big tourist setups , just real history waiting for you to explore , and I would bet a lot of Texans don't even know about some of these . I'll start out west and work my way across the state . Now here's the first one . Fort Leighton State Historic Site in Presidio .

Now it's located in the Chihuahuan Desert in far west Texas , about four miles from the Mexican border and 20 miles southeast of Big Bend National Park .

This site dates to 1848 , when Benjamin Leighton , a trader from New Orleans , built it as a private trading post along the Chihuahua Trail , a major route linking San Antonio to Chihuahua Mexico, used since the Spanish colonial days . Now, Leighton was a tough character .

Born in 1819 in Alabama , he had worked as a scalp hunter in Mexico , hired to fight Apache raids , before settling here with his wife .

His wife , Juana Pedraza , came from a prominent Mexican family, and he constructed this massive adobe fort covering over an acre , with 40 rooms around a central courtyard , thick walls up to three feet wide, and a fortified entrance .

It wasn't just a home , it was his business hub , where he traded goods like guns , whiskey, and blankets with the tribes, Mexican merchants, and local ranchers . Now, some historians say he encouraged Comanches to raid the Mexican settlements just to keep his trade flowing . So who knows ? We may never know .

Now , by 1851 , Leighton died of yellow fever , leaving Juana , his wife , to run it . She remarried, and her second husband , Edward Hall , kept the operation going until he was murdered in 1860 over a debt issue .

The US Army briefly used it as an outpost in the 1860s during border tensions , but it fell into private hands again until the state took it over in 1968 . Now, today it's a historic site managed by the Texas Historical Commission .

You can walk through the restored rooms , the living quarters , a kitchen , even a blacksmith's shop , and see artifacts like old wagons and tools . It's a glimpse into the rough border life of the mid-1800s . Nearby Presidio's got the 14 De La Senega . You know I'm gonna mess that up , it's just my accent . It's a restored 1880s ranch house .

It's not a big draw , but it shows how settlers lived out here in that rough West Texas land . Next is site number two , Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site near Comstock . Comstock's about 30 miles northwest of Del Rio along the Rio Grande River . This place goes back thousands of years .

Archaeologists dated the rock art there to be around 2000 BCE , left by hunter-gatherer tribes who roamed the lower Pecos region . The Fate Bell Shelter , a key spot in the park , has some of the best preserved pictographs in Texas . Red , yellow, and black images of human figures , deer, and abstract shapes painted on limestone walls .

Experts think that these were tied to religious rituals or hunting ceremonies . Some drawings show shamans with antlers , others mark water sources . Now the tribes lived off small games and plants like prickly pear, used, and I know I'm going to mess this up at atlatls . Those are those spear throwers . You hold them in your hand, and you sling it .

It's almost like a slingshot for a spear , and that's before . Bows got introduced later on, and they would use those things and do their hunting . Fast forward to the 1870s, and the site got its modern name from the Black Seminole Scouts , who were descendants of escaped slaves and Seminole Indians out of Florida .

They served in the US Army tracking Apache and Comanche raiders under leaders like John Horst, who fought in the Seminole Wars . The Army set up Camp Pena nearby in 1882 to guard the railroad , but it's gone now . The park itself opened in 1980 . It protects a little over 2,100 acres .

Now you can only see the rock art on a guided hike about a mile each way, and it's pretty rocky terrain . It takes an hour . There are 10 miles of trails total , plus camping if you want to stay . Now here's a unique fact: In 1984 , archaeologists found a 9,500-year-old skeleton called the Leanderthal Lady , one of the oldest human remains found in North America .

Nearby , about 40 miles away , is Langtree , where you've got Judge Roy Bean's Vista Center . It's an old 1880s saloon with a famous law west of the Pecos Hill Court . It's a quick detour if you're in that area . Next up we have site number three , Fort Lancaster State Historic Site .

It's in Crockett County near Sheffield , which is about 60 miles east of Fort Stockton and 10 miles from the Pecos River . The US Army established it in 1855 to protect settlers and supply wagons on the San Antonio-El Paso Road , a 600-mile trail that was the main link between East and West Texas back then .

The fort was built with limestone and adobe barracks , a hospital , officers' quarters and a bakery . It housed around 150 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Regiment . Now they faced harsh conditions summer heat , over 100 degrees , scarce water and constant threats from Comanche and Apache tribes who saw the road as an invasion .

On December 26 , 1867 , about 300 Comanches attacked during the supply run , killed three soldiers , wounded 11 , and burned part of the fort . It was one of the last big raids in the area . The army rebuilt but abandoned it in 1874 as the frontier moved west . By the 1880s locals were scavenging the stone for their own homes .

The Texas Historical Commission took over in 1968 , and today it's mainly ruins stone chimneys , wall bases and a parade ground overlooking a wide valley . There's a two-mile trail to explore it , plus a small museum with artifacts like uniforms and cannonball . A notable figure stopped through there Robert E Lee . He was a colonel in the Union Army before the Civil War .

He inspected the fort in 1856 . He called it the most cheerless post he had ever seen . Nearby Ozona's got the Crockett County Museum , old ranch gear and a 1900 jail about 35 miles away . Next up we have site number four , Fort Belknap , named after Brigadier General William G Belknap . It's near Newcastle .

It's about 100 miles west of Fort Worth , just off Highway 380 . The US Army built it in 1851 to guard settlers moving into Young County along the Brazos River frontier . It was the northernmost fort in a line from the Rio Grande to the Red River .

It started with log huts and tents, but later upgraded to stone buildings , barracks , a magazine , even a two-story headquarters . Over 200 soldiers from the 5th Infantry were stationed here , dealing with Comanche and Kiowa raids that hit hard in the 1850s . One attack in 1855 killed four settlers just 10 miles away from the fort .

During the Civil War , confederates took it over in 1861 , but it was abandoned by 1867 as the frontier shifted . After that it became a ranching hub . Cattle baron Charles Goodnight stopped by in the 1870s while driving herds up the Goodnight Loving Trail . The state made it a historic site in 1936 , and locals restored it over decades of work .

Today you can see eight original buildings , limestone walls still standing , plus a museum with muskets , a cannon and a 19th century chuck wagon . It's run by the Fort Belknap Society . Another unique fact Robert E Lee visited here too . He inspected it in 1856 .

Something you may not know about Robert E Lee, he was going around for the Union Army inspecting a lot of bases . He was an engineer and he had to go through and inspect a lot of places all throughout the South .

Nearby, the town of Graham has a town square about 15 miles east of there , but in the town square, the 1930s courthouse is still standing , still in use , and it's worth a stop to take a look at . They got some nice shopping in that town too , moving right along on site number five . They got some nice shopping in that town too .

Moving right along on site number five , Fort McAvitt State Historic Site . It's near Menard in West Texas , about 25 miles southwest of San Angelo . The Army set it up in 1852 to guard

settlers along the San Saba River and the road to El Paso . It started with tents and then grew into a solid post with 40 limestone buildings , including barracks , a school , a bakery and even a lime kiln for construction . Over 400 soldiers lived here at its peak , including companies A and H of the 8th Infantry . After the Civil War .

From 1868 to 1883 , it was a base for the famed Buffalo Soldiers . Those were the African-American troops of the 10th Cavalry who patrolled against Comanche and Apache troops in Apache raids .

Now , one notable event in 1871 , a soldier named Emanuel Stance earned the Medal of Honor for bravery in a skirmish near Kickapoo Springs , 20 miles away the first black soldier in Texas to be awarded such an honor . The fort closed in 1883 as the frontier settled and kind of settled down . Locals turned it into a small town until the 1920s .

The state took over in 1968 . Now it's got 25 restored buildings you can walk through and check out , plus a two-mile trail . And General William Sherman visited here in 1871 . He called it one of the prettiest posts he'd ever seen High praise from a tough old man . Nearby is Presidio de San Saba , another old Spanish fort . It's about 30 miles north of there .

Next up for site number six we have the Presidio La Bahia . It's in Goliad , 90 miles southeast of San Antonio . It started in 1721 as a Spanish fort near Matagorda Bay called Presidio Nuestra Senora de Loreto to guard against French expansion . In 1749 , they moved it to its current spot on the San Antonio River .

It's got limestone walls , a chapel , a barracks for a hundred soldiers . It protected Mission Espiritu Santo , which we'll talk about next . During the Texas Revolution it saw major action . In October of 1835 , Texian rebels under James Fannin captured it from Mexican forces after about a 30-minute fight . First big win of the war .

But in March 1836 , after losing a battle at Coleto Creek , Fannin and 342 of his men surrendered here on Palm Sunday , March 27th Santa Ana, the Mexican general, ordered them executed , shot in groups outside the walls . One of the darkest moments in Texas Revolution history . Only 28 escaped . The fort stayed active under Mexico and then the US until 1865 .

The Catholic Church bought it in 1853 , and it's been a historic site since 1967 . You can still see the chapel . It's still used for mass . There's an officer's quarters and a museum with artifacts like musket balls and right outside the walls , all those men, Fannin and his troops, well , they're buried in a mass grave just on the other side of the wall .

Next up we have site number seven , which is the Mission Nuestra Señora del Espiritu Santo del Zuniga , long name . It's right next to the La Bahia in Goliad Well , not right next , it's maybe an eighth of a mile away . But it was founded in 1722 near Lavaca Bay to convert Karankwa and Aranama tribes to Christianity and farming .

It moved twice , first in 1726 and then in 1749 to Goliad , where it sits today . The mission had a stone church , workshops and fields where the native converts grew corn and raised cattle . By 1750 , they managed over 40,000 head , the biggest herd in Texas .

At the time , priests like Father Jose Calahorra , ran it teaching Spanish and trades , but diseases like smallpox cut the population hard man . Records show that only 200 converts by 1770 were still around . It closed in 1830 as Mexico secularized missions during the revolution . The Texians used it as a barracks before the massacre occurred .

The state restored it in the 1930s . Civilian Conservation Corps workers rebuilt the church in the granary, and today it's part of Goliad State Park . You can see the chapel , small museum with pottery and stuff in it, and reconstructions of the native huts .

Now, nearby , Goliad's downtown has the 1894 courthouse , which is a really cool looking courthouse , and sitting out in front of the courthouse is the Hanging Tree , been there for a long , long time and locals will tell you that's where they used to hang people after they were found guilty at the courthouse .

Next up we have Site no 8 , San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site , located in San Felipe , 50 miles west of Houston . And you know what ? I would venture to say that well over half of people who live in Houston don't know anything about this place .

They may have read about it when they were in school in their history class somewhere , but they don't realize it's sitting right outside the big city . This was Stephen F Austin's colony . Started in 1823 under a Spanish land grant , he brought 300 families , called the Old 300 , to settle the Brazos River Valley .

It became the social and political hub of Anglo Texas with a town hall , stores, and a newspaper . They called it the Texas Gazette , first published in 1829 by Godwin Brown Cotton . By 1835 , it had 600 people and hosted early independence talks .

In March 1836 , as the Santa Ana Army closed in, Austin ordered it burned to the ground to keep supplies from the enemy . Nothing left but ashes . It rebuilt later, but it never regained its former glory . Now the state made it a historic site in 1940 , and now it's got log cabin replicas . It's got a well, and a statue of Austin from 1992 .

Sam Houston actually spoke there in 1833 , pushing for a separate Texas government, the seeds of the Texas Revolution . Today it's quiet , got about 700 residents . When I stopped by there there was one car sitting in the parking lot that was visiting the grounds .

But it was interesting , it was nice , had a lot of stuff in the little museum there, you could see the replicas of the buildings, and it was the location where Texas began . Next up we have site number nine , Fort Grogan Museum and Grounds in Burnet , Burnet's , about 50 miles northwest of Austin in the hill country .

Now, the Army built this place in 1849 , one of four forts to guard settlers after Texas joined the US in 1845 . It housed 50 soldiers from the 2nd Dragoons Cavalry Unit living in wooden cabins with a blacksmith shop and a powder house . They patrolled against Comanche raids along the Colorado River .

One skirmish in 1851 near Oatmeal Creek killed two soldiers but stopped an attack on Burnet . The fort closed in 1853 as settlers pushed west . Locals used the buildings until 1890s, when most just rotted away .

In 1957 , the Burnet County Historical Society turned it into a museum , restoring four of the structures, a cabin , a schoolhouse , a blacksmith shop, and a barn . Today you can see muskets , saddles, and a cannon . Volunteers offer tours . General George Custer actually passed through this place in 1871 , inspecting frontier posts .

Nearby, Longhorn Cavern State Park is 13 miles It has a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps built visitor center . Next up we have site number 10 , Casa Navarro State Historic Site in San Antonio , Texas , a block from Market Square and the Alamo

. It's the 1850s home of Jose Antonio Navarro , a Tejano who was born in 1795, who helped shape Texas . He fought for Mexican independence from Spain in 1813 , then signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 , one of only two Tejanos to do so . Navarro served in the Republic's Congress .

He wrote laws protecting Tejano land rights and later joined the Texas Senate . After statehood, he built his adobe house, three rooms , a kitchen, and a courtyard , living there until his death in 1871 . His nephew kept it in the family until 1895 . The state bought it in 1959 , and now it's a museum .

It holds his desks , books that he owned , a 19th century loom, and a bunch of other artifacts . Now here's a unique fact, Navarro was at the 1845 annexation convention and helped make Texas into a state . It's a small place but it shows the Mexican-Texian mix that built Texas , often missed in San Antonio's mission hype .

Next up Fort Griffin , state's historic site near Albany , 40 miles northwest of Abilene , the Army established it in 1867 to protect settlers and cattle drives along the western trail to Dodge City . It had 200 soldiers from the 4th Cavalry living in the barracks , a guardhouse , officers' quarters , all wood and stone .

The fort was a rough old place , though nearby, The Flat, a boomtown, drew gamblers , prostitutes, and buffalo hunters . Fights were common . In 1874 , the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers took over , chasing Kiowa and Comanche raiders . One big raid in 1871 near Fort Griffin killed seven settlers . The army tracked the attackers 100 miles but lost them . It closed in 1881 .

Locals tore down most of the buildings . The state reopened it in 1935 with ruins and a longhorn herd . Descendants of Charles Goodnight's cattle are still there . You can hike a three-mile trail and see a restored bakery .

A notable figure , General Ranald McKenzie , led troops here during the Red River Campaign , before his assignment to Wyoming, where he defeated the Sioux in the Battle of the Red Fork . That was in the aftermath of the Little Bighorn .

Site number 12 , Eisenhower Birthplace, that's right , the Dwight D Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site is in Denison , Texas , 75 miles north of Dallas , near Oklahoma .

Dwight David Eisenhower , future general and president , was born here on October 14 , 1890 in a two-room clapboard home , although he spent most of his time in Abilene , Kansas , and that is where his presidential museum is located . This is where he was born . His father , David , worked for the railroad . His mother , Ida , raised six boys lived in tight quarters .

The family lived here until 1892 , moving to Kansas when Dwight was only two . The house stayed private until 1946, when locals preserved it as a museum, after his World War II fame . The state took over in 1952 and now, it's got original furniture, a bed , a stove, and a statue of Ike in his general's uniform . It was added in 1978 .

It's small, it's only about 1,500 square foot , showing the humble roots of a big man . One unique fact Eisenhower is one of two Texas-born presidents , the other being Lyndon Baines Johnson . Nearby, Denison's Red River Railroad has old train cars, and kind of ties into his dad's job . It's an interesting sight to see .

Number 13 , Washington , on the Brazos State Historic Site . It's in Washington , Texas , 80 miles northwest of Houston . This is where Texas independence started . On March 2 , 1836 , 59 delegates met in a log building and signed the Declaration of Independence from Mexico . The town was a ferry crossing on the Brazos River , founded in 1834 by a fellow named John Hall .

It grew into about a thousand people by 1837 , a key republic hub with a customs house and a militia to guard it . Sam Houston was sworn in as president here in 1836 . The Republic's constitution was written in that same old room . It faded after 1846 when Austin became the capital , but the state park opened in 1916 with a replica of Independence Hall .

One notable event 1836 convention lasted 17 days , hashing out a new nation under Mexican attack . The nearby town of Independence is a fun stop . It has the ruins of Baylor University , the first university in Texas . That was before the institution moved to Waco .

Sam Houston's wife , Margaret Leah Houston , is also buried there, and her home is still standing right there on the main road . Site number 14 , The Star of the Republic Museum , is also in Washington . It's right next door . It's part of the same historic area .

It was built in 1976 for the US Bicentennial, and it's dedicated to the Texas Republic , which existed from 1836 to 1846 . The museum is shaped like a pentagon with exhibits on two floors . It's got muskets from San Jacinto , Sam Houston's letters , a Republic flag with one star , hence the name .

It covers daily life , cotton farming , blacksmithing, and big moments like the 1845 annexation vote . The Daughters of the Republic of Texas run it . They've got artifacts like an 1830s printing press used for early newspapers . One unique detail is Barrington Plantation is right next to the museum .

Barrington Plantation is the home of the last president of the Republic of Texas , Anson Jones . It's now a living museum with people doing daily work on the farm and gardens and everyday life , and they'll tell you about what they're doing and how people lived back in the day . When I stopped by, again these are not well-known places to most people .

So, unless they've got a school function going where there's a bunch of school kids , you're not going to see a lot of people there . When I stopped by , I was the only one there , along with a man , his wife, and their small child . Site number 15 , Fanthorpe Inn State Historic Site is in Anderson .

Now Anderson is about 30 miles southeast of College Station, and it's only 17 miles from Washington , which is where the Star of the Texas Museum is , and Washington on the Brazos . Henry Fanthorpe , an Englishman , built it in 1835 as a log home and then expanded it into a two-story inn . By 1840s, it became a stagecoach stop on the road from Houston to Austin .

It had a post office , a tavern, and rooms for travelers . By 1850 , it served 200 people a month . During the Republic's years, Sam

Houston stayed here many times . Records show him signing mail in 1837 . Fanthorpe died in 1867 . His family ran it until 1879 when the railroad bypassed the town . The state bought it in 1977 . Now, it's restored with original furniture , a desk, beds , and stagecoach demos on some weekends . It was one of the few Republic-era inns still standing in the state .

Nearby Anderson's Courthouse from the 1890s , this big old red brick building it's still active . And if you haven't done it , Texas courthouses in these small Texas counties are architectural wonders . They're not just plain buildings . There are people who actually just go around to photograph and visit the courthouses because of their architectural beauty .

We're moving right along here . We're at site number 16 out of 20 . And site number 16 is Monument Hill State Historic Site in LaGrange , Texas , which is 70 miles east of Austin . Memorial to the 52 Texians, that's right Texians, who were killed in 1842-1843 during the Mier Expedition and Dawson Massacres . Now , that was a failed raid .

That was done in retaliation after Mexico had raided San Antonio . In the Mier Expedition , 176 men surrendered near the city of Mier , Ciudad Mier . Santa Ana ordered a decimation of them . Seventeen executed after drawing black beans from a jar of 159 white beans . So you drew the bean, and if you got the black one, you were executed .

Their bodies were buried here in 1848 under a 48-foot stone obelisk . The Dawson Group, 36 men, died earlier , ambushed near San Antonio . The site overlooks the Colorado River . It's got trails and picnic spots . One notable figure , Captain Nicholas Dawson , who led that doomed fight, his name is on the marker . Nearby .

LaGrange's Texas Czech Center has old immigrant tools tied to the area's settlers . And we're going to go right into site number 17 , which is the Kreisch Brewery State Historic Site in LaGrange . It's right next to Monument Hill . The Kreisch Brewery State Historic Site is just that it was started by a fellow named Heinrich Kreisch , a German immigrant .

He built this in the 1860s . He arrived in 1846 . He was a stonemason who was fleeing Europe's unrest . Texas has big German and Czech roots . A lot of folks from Germany and the Czech came here, and he was no different .

Heinrich came here, and in 1860 , he started brewing lager in the hillside cellars near his stone house , using spring water and barley from his farm . His Bluff Beer , as he called it , sold across Fayette County . Records show 700 barrels a year by 1870 . It was one of Texas's first commercial breweries .

Kreish died in 1882 after a fall, and his family ran it until 1884, when it shut down . The state took over in 1977 , and now you can see the brewery ruins , a house , and the smokehouse . The stoneworks are still pretty solid . One unique detail he built the brewery over a natural spring, which kept the beer cold , naturally .

Now , while you're there , be sure to check out downtown LaGrange, they have a great museum that's housed in the old jail . It's a really cool little museum . Site 18 , Fort Davis National Historic Site , 200 miles southeast of El Paso . The Army founded it in 1854 .

The Guard of San Antonio El Paso rode through the Davis Mountains, which were named for Jefferson Davis , who was then the US Secretary of War . It started with wood huts rebuilt by stone . In the 1860s barracks had a hospital . 100 buildings total . Now, over 400 soldiers served here , including the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers after 1867 .

They were sent there to patrol against Apache and Comanche raids . In 1875 , Colonel Benjamin Grierson led a campaign from here where he chased Apache chief Victoria or Victorio . He was chief of the Warm Springs Band of the Chihinde Division of Central Apaches . He chased that fella 600 miles . Never did catch him .

While Geronimo is more well-known , Victorio is considered a more skilled warrior and diplomat, and he led a much larger force . Now, the fort closed in 1891 . National Park Service took it over in 1961 , and now it's got 20 restored buildings , a five-mile trail . They do bugle calls on the weekends . Nearby, The McDonnell Observatory is 20 miles away .

They have star parties with huge telescopes . It's one of the best places to view the stars and the planets . You ought to check this place

out if you're ever in the area . Next up we have number 19 , the 1940s Air Terminal in Houston , Texas . It's part of the William Hobby Airport system . Now I visited here several years ago, but not even many Houstonians are aware of this little gem sitting there near downtown Houston . It opened in 1940 as the Houston Municipal Airport .

It's in an Art Deco building, three stories, curved lined terrazo floors . The building itself was designed by a fellow named Joseph Finger . Now it handled 141,000 passengers by 1948 . And you're thinking well , that doesn't sound like a whole lot . But you got to remember in the 1940s not that many people flew on aircraft . Aircraft travel was a luxury .

They'd had airlines like Braniff and Eastern flying DC-3s out of this place . During World War II it trained pilots for the Army Air Corps . In 1943 , over a thousand cadets passed through there . The terminal closed for commercial use in 1954 when Hobby's new building opened . But it's been a museum since 1998 . It's run by the 1940s Air Terminal Museum foundation .

You can see all kinds of stuff there, old flight gear , a 1940s ticket counter , photos of Houston's early days, and several old planes . One notable figure passed through here , a fellow by the name of Howard Hughes landed here in 1947 . He was testing out a new airplane .

It's right by the modern airport , which is still active , although it's a lot less air travel goes through here versus George Bush Airport , Houston's big one . But the 1940s Air Terminal is a blast from the past . It's well worth visiting and very few people ever go there . All right , number 20 . Out of our list of 20 , we have Camp Hearn .

Camp Hearne is 12 miles northwest of Bryan College Station . Camp Hearne was a World War II prisoner of war camp built in 1942 to hold 4,800 German prisoners, that were captured in North Africa , mostly Rommel's Afrika Korps . People don't realize that in World War II Texas had about 50 prisoner of war camps , some permanent and some temporary .

This one , Camp Hearne , from 1943 to 1946 , housed up to 5,000 men . Mostly worked on local farms under guard , you know , farming cotton and peanuts and such . Some were hardcore Nazis , others were just soldiers . 128 escaped Camp Hearne, but all were recaptured . The camp closed in 1946 .

Most of the buildings were torn down, but one barracks and one foundation remain . A museum opened in 1997 with diaries , a model camp, and a guard tower replica . Prisoners built a fountain , which is still there , and it's a unique glimpse and a little bit of World War II history . Now , nearby , Hearnes Railroad Depot from 1901 is a small little museum .

It's worth checking out as well . So that's 20 . Twenty overlooked and little known historic places in Texas . Ah , but wait , I got a bonus for you . Here's the bonus place Fort Chadbourne , north of San Angelo , just 12 miles out of Bront , Texas . It's on US Highway 277 . Fort Chadbourne was established in 1852 by the United States Army .

It was one of a string of frontier forts built to protect settlers moving west along the San Antonio-El Paso Road , named after Lieutenant Theodore Lincoln Chadbourne , who died in the Mexican War . It housed troops like the 8th Infantry and later the Buffalo Soldiers guarded against Comanche raids .

From 1858 to 1861 , it was a stop on the Butterfield-Overland mail route, think stagecoaches rumbling through . The fort surrendered to the Confederates in 1861 . It was reoccupied after the Civil War and shut down in 1867 when the water ran low .

Today , the Richards family , who've owned it for eight generations , restored it with absolutely no government money , just grit and hard work . You can visit the stabilized ruins, a 12,500 square foot museum, and see artifacts like old firearms and a stagecoach . I mean, it's a real piece of Texas history off the beaten path . So that's it , I promise .

That's all 20 plus a bonus . Overlooked spots , from Texas frontier forts to its World War II camps , there are a lot more places like this in Texas that are often overlooked or people just don't know about .

They're not the loudest names , but they've got stories , prehistoric cave paintings , Texians fighting for independence , soldiers holding the line, and everyday people just shaping the state . If you're into history , these are worth a visit . No big crowds , just the real thing . You can check out TheTravellingFool . com for more, or tell me your own finds .

I might use them next time . If you like this , I'd appreciate it if you leave a review , and until next time , safe travels . Thank you .