Fort D.A. Russell

The post first went by Camp Albert and sent Signal Corps biplanes to patrol the river. From 1923 to 1936 the War Department staged simulated combat maneuvers on land lent by local ranchers. When the army moved to close the fort in 1931, Marfa fought back: 650 officers and men, upkeep for 400 horses and mules and a $480,000 yearly payroll meant a great deal in the Depression. During the war years citizens donated 2,400 acres, and in 1944 the first woman officer arrived as civilian women took over driving.

What the plaque says

Fort D.A. Russell Originally named Camp Marfa, this installation began as a supply post for U. S. Army border patrol stations in 1911. It was a cavalry camp during the years of the Mexican Revolution. Renamed for Civil War general David Allen Russell, it became a permanent Army post in 1929. Deactivated at the end of 1933, it was reopened in 1935 with artillery units. During World War II Fort Russell became an army training camp, and was home to a chemical warfare battalion as well as German prisoners of war. The fort was officially closed in October 1946. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Chinati Foundation — 0.4 mi
  Donald Judd's museum on the grounds of old Fort D. A. Russell in Marfa, where art, buildings and land are meant to be seen together, by guided tour.
• Presidio County Courthouse — 0.7 mi
  Marfa's domed courthouse of 1886, a Second Empire landmark finished in time for a New Year's ball, its statue of Justice still missing the scales someone shot away.
• Marfa Lights Viewing Area — 8.7 mi
  The roadside viewing area on US 90 nine miles east of Marfa, where people gather after dark to watch the horizon toward the Chinati Mountains for the Marfa lights.
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens — 19 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.

More markers nearby

• James Buchanan Gillett — 0.9 mi
• William Edward Russell — 0.9 mi
• Presidio County — 1.2 mi
• Marfa Stockyards — 1.5 mi