Likely more energized by being out of the classroom on a field trip than thrilled about where they were, the third graders waited as patiently as is possible for nine- and ten-year-olds to begin their tour of Old Stone Fort in Nacogdoches.
One of the boys managed to escape his teacher's surveillance long enough to slip out of line and trace his hand along the rough red rock exterior of the rustic two-story building on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus. At this late date, former museum curator Carolyn Erickson has no idea why the boy felt the need to check out the old stone that gave the landmark its name, but she well remembers what happened next.
The suddenly animated child rushed up to her with something clutched in his hand. When he opened his small fist, Mrs. Erickson saw an old lead rifle ball, the soft metal powdery white with age.
"Can I keep it?" the little guy asked.
Before answering that question, she asked one of her own. Where had he found it?
Excitedly, he said it had been imbedded (though he didn't use that word) in one of the fort's stones until he managed to pry it out.
Mrs. Erickson weighed any archeological significance of the artifact versus what the spent projectile obviously meant to the third grader, at least at that heady moment. It didn't take her long to decide not to spoil a magic moment in that young person's life. Who knows? Maybe the boy went on to major in Texas history or archeology. Could be he still has that deformed bullet rattling around in a battered cigar box along with baseball cards and other childhood treasures.
The incident happened in 1978, just shy of two centuries after Antonio Gil Ibarvo (often incorrectly spelled "Ybarro") built a two-story structure in the new Spanish town of Nacogdoches in 1779. Constructed of the iron ore common to the area, with an interior of adobe bricks and walnut timbers, the building served as a trading post in the tall pines along the El Camino Real, the roadway extending from Natchitoches, La. via San Antonio to the Rio Grande.
First known as La Casa Piedra (the rock house), the building later came to be called the Old Stone Fort. These days, locals tend to shorten that to OSF. No matter its name, it is one of Texas' best known if least understood landmarks. For one very big thing, OSF was never a fort, at least not in the traditional sense. However, several military campaigns were directed from it and the building did see vicious fighting at times. Eight different flags have flown in Nacogdoches, and the building had some role during all of those epochs.
OSF stood for more than a hundred years, from the late 18th century until the early 20th century. During that time, it went full circle from being a privately owned trading post to semi-public building to a privately owned saloon. Finally, in 1902, brothers William and Charles Perkins had it razed. Fortunately for posterity, they donated the exterior stone to a local women's club.
In 1907, the stones were used in a new building that went up on the town's public school campus. That building lasted until 1931, but again, the stones were saved.
From the historical preservation perspective, razing the Old Stone Fort constituted a felony against history. While tearing down the Alamo would have been much worse, had the Nacogdoches building been left intact, it would be the oldest non-mission structure in Texas.
Several "firsts" took place inside its walls. Not only was Texas's first declaration of independence written there (in 1813), so were the second and third. The same year the first declaration of independence was written within its walls, the type for Texas's first newspaper, the Gazeta de Tejas, was set there. On the local level, OSF was the town's first commercial building, first city hall and first county courthouse.
Beyond all those significant points, those who spent time in the structure constitute a "Who's Who" of early Texas history. Among them were James Bowie, David Crockett, William B. Travis, and Sam Houston.
The present OSF is a replica built during the Texas Centennial in 1936. Most of the stone came from the original building, but Mrs. Erickson says she knows of at least one Nacogdoches residence with a fireplace made of original OSF stone. Presumably, the stone in which the elementary pupil found the lead ball was one of the original pieces.
Not only is the iconic replica not really an old fort, the site of the original structure isn't even where most people think it is. Many believe the OSF stood where Stone Fort Bank (now Regions Bank) is located. But the historic building actually sat across the street, where the Commercial Bank and Trust stands. (For GSP junkies, the coordinates of the actual site are 31.6-271 degrees north and 094.65404 degrees west.)
A final quirky thing about OSF: There's a long-standing campus myth that if a S.F. Austin student sets foot in the building, he or she will not end up graduating. Of course, that makes about as much sence as calling an old trading post a fort.
© Mike Cox - September 11, 2014 column
More "Texas Tales' Columns
Related Topics: People | Columns | Texas Town List | Texas
Order Books by Mike Cox
Columns | People | Texas Town List | Texas
Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes. All Rights Reserved