Camp Elizabeth
Sterling City, Sterling County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Thought to have been established 1853. Used as an outpost hospital of Fort Concho 1874 - 1886.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Camp Elizabeth, thought to date to 1853, served from 1874 to 1886 as an outpost hospital and sub-post of Fort Concho during the height of the frontier military presence on the West Texas plains. Such outposts anchored the U.S. Army's effort to secure travel routes and settlements during the Indian Wars of the late nineteenth century. Little remains, but its role in the network of frontier defense endures in memory.
Why it matters
Frontier sub-posts like Camp Elizabeth were the connective tissue of the Army's campaign to open West Texas to settlement, a defining chapter of westward expansion.
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Themes & tags
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