Fort Travis

In early 1836, soon after Texas declared independence from Mexico, Republic of Texas President David Burnet dispatched Colonel Ed Harcourt to Galveston Island to erect a fort. Using army recruits and slave labor Harcourt built an octagonal earth and timber fortification armed with six and twelve-pound gun mounts appropriated from the Texas Navy vessel CAYUGA. Named Fort Travis in honor of William B. Travis, famous defender of the Alamo, it was located at the east end of the island. After high winds damaged the fort in 1837 the site was converted into a gun battery called Fort point, its present name. In 1898-99, with the beginning of Federal development of the Port of Galveston, a second Fort Travis was established across Galveston Bay at Bolivar Point near the former site of a Civil War Confederate fortification called Fort Green. Two batteries, named Davis and Ernst, were completed in 1899 and a third, named Kimble, completed in 1922. Coastal defense facilities were added to the fort during World Wars I and II. Fort Travis was decommissioned and sold as war surplus in 1949. Besides its obvious military uses, Fort Travis also served as a refuge from hurricanes and as a Civil Defense shelter for area residents. Incise on back: Funding for this replacement marker was provided through a generous grant from the Hoblitzelle Foundation and the Texas Historical Foundation.

Fort Travis is a historical marker in Port Bolivar, Galveston County, dedicated in 1993. It is one of 281 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 352 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3667, -94.7565 near Port Bolivar. The nearest cataloged historic site is Point Bolivar (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Point Bolivar, Point Bolivar Lighthouse, and SS Selma.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167007452. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.