Barry Scobee Mountain

On May 19, 1854, John James, a San Antonio land speculator who had no doubt heard that the army wanted a post here, filed on a section covering the site and leased it to the United States for $300 a year for twenty years. In May 1946 David A. Simmons of Houston, a former president of the American Bar Association, bought the old fort property, meaning to restore it and open it as a year-round resort. He died in 1951. The national historic site was formally dedicated in April 1966.

What the plaque says

Barry Scobee Mountain (6300 ft. elev.) Camp grounds and lookout post (1850s-1880s) for military, mail coaches, freighters, travelers, emigrants. Site of area's last Indian raid, 1881. Part of John G. Prude Ranch. Named by Gov. John Connally Dec. 21, 1964, to honor Barry Scobee whose efforts were largely responsible for the preservation of old Fort Davis. He was born, 1885, in Missouri. Served in U. S. Army in Philippines and later on merchant ship in World War II. Was editor, reporter, printer, publisher. Came to Fort Davis in 1917 and became an authority and writer on Trans-Pecos history. (Fort Davis Historical society) (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Davis National Historic Site — 1.2 mi
  A frontier post of 1854 to 1891 on the San Antonio-El Paso Road, garrisoned after the Civil War by Black regiments, with its buildings restored to their 1880 look.
• Davis Mountains State Park & Indian Lodge — 3.5 mi
  A 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps park above Fort Davis, with the CCC's Skyline Drive, the white adobe Indian Lodge and a trail down to the old fort.
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens — 5.7 mi
  The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute's grounds south of Fort Davis, with an 18-acre botanical garden, a cactus museum and trails into the desert foothills.
• McDonald Observatory — 9.6 mi
  The University of Texas observatory on Mount Locke, founded with a Paris, Texas banker's fortune, with star parties three nights a week under some of the darkest skies in the country.

More markers nearby

• Granado Mountain — steps away
• St. Joseph Catholic Church — 1.2 mi
• Fort Davis — 1.2 mi
• San Antonio-El Paso Road — 1.4 mi