Martin's Gap
Fairy, Hamilton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Mountain burial site for frontiersman Jim Martin, killed here by Indians in 1860s, when county had fewer than 500 people. Gap bore his name for 20 years. Settled in 1873 by Capt. Battle Fort, Confederate veteran and lawyer. A post office established 1884 was named Fairy to honor Mrs. Phelps, Fort's beloved young daughter.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This mountain gap on the Central Texas frontier takes its story from Jim Martin, a frontiersman killed here by Indians in the 1860s and buried on the height, when Hamilton County held fewer than five hundred souls. The gap bore Martin's name for two decades. In 1873 Captain Battle Fort, a Confederate veteran and lawyer, settled the area, and a post office opened in 1884 was named Fairy in honor of Fort's young daughter, Mrs. Phelps.
Why it matters
Place names like Martin's Gap and Fairy preserve the intimate, often violent human history of frontier settlement, when a single death or a beloved child could fix a name to the land for generations.
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Related people
- · Jim Martin
- · Battle Fort
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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