El Fortin de San Jose
Presidio vicinity, Presidio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
About 1773, the Spanish garrison at Presidio del Norte, present Ojinaga, Mexico, established El Fortin de San Jose in this vicinity to protect local farmers. The settlement retained the name after the post was abandoned about 1810. After Ben Leaton had acquired extensive property in the area in 1848, the community came to be called Fort Leaton. Ben Leaton's fortress is all that remains of the old settlement. Fort Leaton is neither the site of the original Presidio del Norte nor the Spanish mission Apostal Santiago, as stated erroneously by earlier markers at this location. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1773 the Spanish garrison across the Rio Grande at Presidio del Norte set up El Fortín de San José on this side to shield local farmers, and the settlement kept the name even after the post was abandoned about 1810. When Ben Leaton acquired extensive property here in 1848, the place became known as Fort Leaton, and his adobe fortress is all that survives of the old community. The marker pointedly corrects earlier signs: this is neither the original Presidio del Norte nor the Spanish mission Apóstol Santiago.
Why it matters
The site marks the far northern edge of Spain's colonial frontier in Texas, where a small garrison tried to protect farming families in contested borderland country.
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Related people
- · Ben Leaton
Themes & tags
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