Fort Oldham

The person the plaque leaves out is Phillis. When William Oldham died in Austin in 1868, his relative told the court he had neither wife nor children. Phillis, whom Oldham had enslaved, said she had been his wife since 1839 and had borne him six sons. The relative evicted her and the boys; she sued and won homestead rights from the Burleson County Probate Court, and they returned to the original log cabin at the fort. Oldham had bought the land in 1837 from Hendrick Arnold, a free Black veteran. It is private, with no public route.

What the plaque says

Fort Oldham Built 1836-37 by pioneers who took refuge with William Oldham (1798?-1868), Infantry major in Texas War for Independence. The fort stabilized the area, as dozens lived there in seasons of Indian raids, and eventually preachers who helped found early church. By 1838, Fort Oldham had a post office and was a stopping place on Independence-Tenoxtitlan Road. Maj. Oldham joined Somervell and Mier Expeditions (1842) to counter Mexican raids into Texas. Captured by the foe, he escaped, fought way through perils, and returned home. He amassed fortune in land surrounding fort site. (1973)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum — 14 mi
  The library of the forty-first president on the Texas A&M campus, opened in 1997, where George and Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin are buried in a family plot on the grounds.
• Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway — 22 mi
  Two park units on an 11,000-acre lake between Austin and College Station, joined by a thirteen-mile trailway for hikers, cyclists and riders with primitive camps along the way.
• Independence and Old Baylor Park — 22 mi
  A crossroads north of Brenham that was the richest town in Texas when it won Baylor University in 1845, refused the railroad, and lost the college to Waco and Belton in 1886.
• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 30 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.

More markers nearby

• Near Homesite of Judge Andrew S. Broaddus — 2.4 mi
• Cooks Point — 2.4 mi
• Elizabeth Chapel Methodist Church — 3.0 mi
• Fort Tenoxtitlan — 3.0 mi