Shafter's Trail
Andrews, Andrews County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1875, Col. Wm. R. Shafter and a company of soldiers traveled from Fort Concho (where San Angelo is today) to Monument Springs, N. Mex., charting the arid plains, mapping all the vital watering places. This marker is in the only town of today through which Shafter's Trail passes. Here Col. Shafter, defending his party, chased Indians who ran 12 miles to the northwest. Thus he found the salt lake known ever after by his name. His expedition's maps of this formerly unknown land opened the Permian Basin to settlement. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1875 Colonel William R. Shafter led a company of soldiers from Fort Concho across the arid plains toward Monument Springs, New Mexico, mapping the scarce watering holes that made the country passable. Along the way he skirmished with Native fighters and located the salt lake that still carries his name. The maps his expedition produced charted a land that had been largely unknown to newcomers, opening the Permian Basin to settlement.
Why it matters
It marks the U.S. Army's reconnaissance of West Texas during the Indian Wars, the surveying that turned an unmapped frontier into ground the settlers—and later the oil industry—would claim.
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Related people
- · Col. William R. Shafter
Related events
- · 1875 Shafter expedition from Fort Concho
Themes & tags
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