Phantom Hill Road
Lometa, Lampasas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1851-52, in a major reorganization of the frontier defense system, the U.S. Army built a line of 7 forts between the Red River and the Rio Grande to protect the scattered remote settlements and travel routes to California. On Nov. 14, 1851, Fort Phantom Hill was established near present Abilene (120 miles NW) by Col. J. J. Abercrombie and the 5th Infantry. The Phantom Hill Road, the vital transportation and communication link between the fort and military headquarters at Austin (80 miles SE), was the first road in Lampasas County, and crossed at this site. Supply trains of up to 24 wagons drawn by mules, horses, and oxen passed along this route to the frontier fort. The road was used primarily by the military until the abandonment of Fort Phantom Hill on April 6, 1854, but also served as a thoroughfare for early settlers entering the region and continued in that capacity until after the Civil War. About 1870, traffic passing through the area was diverted to the Senterfitt Stage Station (1.5 miles SW), and this section of the road abandoned. Several isolated segments of the Phantom Hill Road remain in use in the county, and physical evidence of the Emy's Creek Crossing (200 yards S) still exists. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1851–52 the U.S. Army reorganized its frontier defenses, building a line of seven forts from the Red River to the Rio Grande to guard remote settlements and the roads west to California. Fort Phantom Hill, established in 1851, was tied to headquarters in Austin by the Phantom Hill Road—the first road in Lampasas County—along which mule and ox trains of up to twenty-four wagons hauled supplies. Used by the military until the fort's 1854 abandonment, the road later served settlers before traffic shifted to a stage station around 1870.
Why it matters
The road and its forts mark the military infrastructure that opened the Texas frontier to settlement and the great overland push toward California.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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