Fort Casa Blanca, C.S.A.

(About 2 1/2 mi. NW) First building erected in area that is now Jim Wells County early as 1855. During the Civil War was on Confederate supply line that started in Corpus Christi, followed the Nueces here, went to Laredo, to Brownsville and back to Corpus Christi. When Federals were in Corpus Christi, Thomas Wright, the sutler, drove from here to other points. Casa Blanca was supplied by small boats that outmaneuvered Federals on Nueces Bay, slipped into the Nueces River, and came up Penitos Creek. They hauled guns, ammunition, medicine, and other wartime goods and took out cotton, "Currency of the Confederate." The fort had walls 28" to 36" thick. An escape tunnel from its well led to the creek. It's one entryway, wide enough for a 2-wheel cart or 2 horses abreast, was closed with a heavy cypress door. Cypress shutters covered its few small windows. Corner parapets and portholes at 3 heights gave it emplacements for defense. It not only warehoused goods, but also provided shelter and water for drivers passing with wagons along the Cotton Road from San Antonio to Matamoros. For cotton wagons it meant safety from bandit chases and from killing thirsts. In the 20th century the fort has disappeared. (1965)

Fort Casa Blanca, C.S.A. is a historical marker in Sandia, Jim Wells County, dedicated in 1965. It is one of 10 historical markers documented in Jim Wells County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 24 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 28.0241, -97.8798 near Sandia. The nearest cataloged historic site is Sandia Cemetery (cemetery), about 1.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include McNeill, Wade, and Old Ranch.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5249001972. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.