Fort Parker History

ld Fort Parker  is a reconstructed fort that pays tribute to the Parker family and other pioneers who paid a high price to settle Texas. The Parkers and other members of their church came to Texas from Crawford County, Illinois in 1833. In 1832, Daniel Parker gained permission to settle in Texas. After organizing those who wanted to go to Texas into the Predestinarian Baptist Church, they all left Illinois in July of 1833 in ox drawn wagons. Daniel and the majority of his followers settled near the present city of Elkhart, where a replica of their Pilgrim Baptist Church still stands in their memory. Other members of the group preferred to settle farther west, near the Navasota River. Elder John Parker and three of his sons; Silas, James and Benjamin, began to clear land and construct "Parker's Fort" in December of 1833.

The large stockade was built of split cedars, buried in the ground three feet and extending up some twelve feet. Two story blockhouses were erected at opposite corners, and within the fort were two rows of log cabins. In March of 1834, the fort was complete and the families of the brothers, along with other members of the group, moved into the fort and began clearing land for fields. Life was hard and security was tight during those early days. Except for a short evacuation of the fort during the winter of 1836, life seemed quite secure, particularly after Texas had gained its independence in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.

Present Day Fort Parker

Old Fort Parker, the United States' only large stockade of upright split cedar logs built by settlers and not by soldiers, was abandoned by the State of Texas in 1992 when it relinquished seventeen sites from its care. Old Fort Parker's gates were closed and locked. Initially, The City of Groesbeck, City of Mexia and Limestone County, took over the responsibility of preserving the site of the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker whose story captured the popular imagination and found a place in Texas folklore. Because of tireless volunteer efforts and the commitment of Limestone County and its citizens, Texas and visitors from around the world can visit Old Fort Parker today and explore the cabins, climb the blockhouses and recapture the atmosphere of that fateful spring day in 1836.

Fort Parker is now maintained by Old Fort Parker Inc. and has become a popular attraction hosting special events throughout the year such as Mountain Men Rendezvous, trail rides, turkey shoots, pioneer days for boy and girl scouts, Christmas at the Fort and gunslinger re-enactments.