San Antonio-El Paso Road
Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Westward expeditions opened trails from San Antonio to El Paso in the late 1840s. Two routes, called the upper and lower roads, converged at the Pecos River to traverse the Davis Mountains. Henry Skillman (1814-1864) began a courier service along the road in 1850 and was awarded a U. S. Government contract to carry the mail. He formed a partnership with George H. Giddings (1823-1902) in 1854, and they established relay stations along the route, including one at the new U. S. Army Post at Fort Davis. During the Civil War, control of the area passed to the Confederates, and Giddings continued mail service for the new government. By 1867 Fort Davis was occupied by four companies of the 9th U. S. Cavalry. After Federal reoccupation, stage and courier routes were more frequently utilized, with travelers often accompanied by Army escorts from Fort Davis and other posts. After the arrival of railroads in West Texas in the 1880s, use of overland roads declined sharply, though the trails did provide access to new settlers and were still used by the army as links between forts. Vestiges of the Old San antonio-El Paso Overland Road can still be seen in Fort Davis and surrounding areas. (Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Blazed by westward expeditions in the late 1840s, the San Antonio–El Paso Road split into upper and lower routes that rejoined at the Pecos to cross the Davis Mountains. Couriers like Henry Skillman and George Giddings ran mail and relay stations along it, Fort Davis guarded it, and by 1867 troopers of the 9th U.S. Cavalry patrolled a route traveled under army escort until railroads made it obsolete in the 1880s.
Why it matters
This overland road was a lifeline of westward expansion and federal mail across the forbidding trans-Pecos, its ruts still marking one of the great routes that bound Texas to the far Southwest.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
After the United States acquired the Southwest in the late 1840s, Texas needed routes across its enormous western territory. The distance from San Antonio to El Paso was huge, and much of it was desert, mountain and dry plain, with few reliable water sources. Expeditions sent west in the late 1840s mapped the trails that became the San Antonio-El Paso Road.
Two routes developed, known as the upper and lower roads. They followed different paths across the country and came together at the Pecos River. From there, the combined road climbed into the Davis Mountains, where springs and grass made this high country a natural stop.
This was contested land. American Indian nations had traveled and lived in this region long before any wagon road existed, and the United States built forts like Fort Davis in the 1850s to protect the traffic along the route.
People & events
Henry Skillman (1814-1864) was among the first to turn the trail into a working line of communication. In 1850 he started a courier service along the road and won a U.S. Government contract to carry the mail. Moving letters across hundreds of miles of open country required toughness, and it was risky work.
In 1854 Skillman partnered with George H. Giddings (1823-1902). Together they built relay stations along the route, where riders and teams could get fresh animals and supplies. One station was at the new U.S. Army post at Fort Davis. Soldiers and mail riders depended on each other on the road.
The Civil War changed everything. Confederate forces took control of the area, and Giddings kept the mail running for the new government. After the war, federal troops returned, and by 1867 Fort Davis was garrisoned by four companies of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, one of the regiments of Black soldiers remembered as the Buffalo Soldiers.
With the army back, stagecoaches and couriers used the road more heavily than before, and travelers often rode with military escorts from Fort Davis and other posts. That lasted until the railroads reached West Texas in the 1880s. After that, traffic on the old road declined quickly, although settlers still used it and the army still used it to connect forts.
Its place in the American story
The San Antonio-El Paso Road was one of the routes that connected Texas to the rest of the Southwest and, through it, to California and the Pacific. After the Mexican-American War extended the country to the west coast, roads like this were the only ways to move mail, people and supplies across the new territory.
The road's history follows the major events of the century: westward expansion, government mail contracts, the frontier army, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and finally the railroad. The Buffalo Soldiers who guarded it are an important part of the story, since the frontier service of Black cavalry regiments has only recently been widely recognized.
The railroad's arrival ended the road's main role, as it did for overland trails across the West. By the 1880s a trip that had taken weeks by stage or courier took days by rail.
If you visit
According to the marker, traces of the Old San Antonio-El Paso Overland Road can still be seen in Fort Davis and the surrounding area. Watch for worn depressions or old wagon routes in the landscape, and imagine a mail rider or stagecoach coming down from the mountains after a long, dry crossing.
In town, Fort Davis National Historic Site preserves the army post that guarded the road. Its restored buildings and parade ground explain why the fort mattered and who served there, including the 9th Cavalry troopers named on this marker.
The Davis Mountains are among the most scenic parts of Texas, with cooler air, big skies and open country. Allow time for the drive, bring water, and leave room in your plans for the long distances of the trans-Pecos. The same distances that made this road so hard to travel still shape every trip through the region.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Henry Skillman
- · George H. Giddings
Themes & tags
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