John Duncan's Fort

Jackson J. Brown and his family settled near the springs on Richland Creek in December 1854, and Brown named the stream for the fertile land it crossed. The Tankersley and Duncan families soon followed. The Brown School, named for him, opened in 1868. In 1877 a Richland Springs post office opened in Samuel E. Hays's store, the community taking its name from the springs and from local hopes for its farmland. By 1890 cotton, grain and livestock supported 150 residents, with a justice of the peace, a constable and several shops.

What the plaque says

John Duncan's Fort A private, or settler's fort, built 1858. Cabins of 4 families (30 people) formed a stockade for defense against Indians. Daily a hunting party would go out for meat; other men stood guard. Residents went home to farm in spring, but through 1865 "forted up" each fall. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 32 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.

More markers nearby

• First State Bank in Richland Springs — 0.3 mi
• On This Site a Treaty of Peace — 8.1 mi
• Bowser Community — 9.6 mi
• Harkeyville — 10 mi