Stone Fort Museum

The replica went up in 1936 after a debate over where to put it. The SFA Story history says the State Board of Control gave H. C. Hatchl an $18,488.35 contract to raze the Memorial Building and build a replica on campus. Architect Hal Tucker and President Birdwell chose the site, and a June 2, 1936 town meeting endorsed it five to one, since the Centennial committee required state property with upkeep guaranteed. The museum opened October 16, 1936, with Lois Foster Blount as first curator. Just before World War II the Red Cross used it as a headquarters.

What the plaque says

Stone Fort Museum Opening in 1936, the Stone Fort Museum has interpreted the history of East Texas and of the Old Stone Fort while also elevating the local historic preservation ethic. The Old Stone Fort, built in the late 18th century, was an integral part in a wide array of historic changes occurring in East Texas. The razing of the original building in 1902 caused consternation throughout the state and encouraged organizations to preserve other historic structures. In 1908, the Cum Concilio Club, a local women's organization, opened a memorial building dedicated to the razed structure. By the 1930s, the Texas Centennial Advisory Board of Nacogdoches, along with the Nacogdoches Historical Society, proposed that the monument be replaced by a structure that more closely replicated the original building. A renewed interest in history, spurred by the upcoming centennial of Texas independence, aided the realization of the project. The Texas Centennial Commission approved the construction of the building on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (now Stephen F. Austin State University). Architect Hal B. Tucker designed the structure, and construction was completed by October 1936. Since then, museum staff have worked to interpret the history of the Old Stone Fort and of East Texas, with particular emphasis on the periods of Spanish and Mexican rule. In 1992, work was completed on renovations to the museum building, meant to restore a higher degree of authenticity. Today, the Stone Fort Museum continues to serve Texas by interpreting East Texas history though exhibits, programs, and its housing in a replica of an important early Texas structure. (2008)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Dr. Joseph William Kennedy, Jr — steps away
• Thomas Jefferson Rusk — steps away
• The University Tradition in Nacogdoches — steps away
• Pioneering Higher Education in East Texas — steps away