Historical Marker
Fort Milam
Marlin, Falls County · Texas
Erected 1936
The plaque is a few lines; the garrison's record is longer. The Handbook of Texas says the first Fort Milam was built in 1834 as Fort Viesca and renamed in December 1835 for Benjamin R. Milam. Settlers abandoned it in March 1836, but Col. Edward Burleson then put three ranger companies there. Col. Robert M. Coleman's rangers replaced them in the fall, and Capt. Thomas H. Barron's company took duty on October 1. Detachments built Little River Fort in 1836 and Forts Fisher and Henderson in 1837. Enlistments lapsed that summer, and the fort stood vacant.
What the plaque says
Fort Milam Built at the capital of Robertson's Colony named in 1834 Sarahville De Viesca in honor of his mother Sarah Robertson and the Governor of Texas, Agustin DeViesca. Soon after its name was changed to Milam, December 27, 1835, a ranging company built the fort as a protection to the settlers against hostile Indians.
Where it stands
31.23335, -96.93910 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
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