Fort Gates
Fort Gates is a historic site in Texas, at a recorded elevation of 232 m. Franklin Mountain stands 427 m to the west-southwest, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is North Fort Hood Softball Field, a park 1.4 miles away. Texas Brazos Trail passes 1.0 miles off. 56 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Fort Gates, was a United States Army fort established on October 26, 1849, as Camp Gates by Captain William Reading Montgomery and two companies of the Eighth United States Infantry. The fort was located on the north bank of the Leon River about five miles east of the site of present Gatesville, Texas. The installation was named for Brevet Major Collinson Reed Gates of New York, a noted officer in the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. The fort was established to protect settlers on the Texas frontier from Indians. The fort was garrisoned by companies D, I, F, and H of the Eighth United States Infantry. In April 1851, 256 enlisted men and forty-five officers were stationed at Fort Gates, the most reported in a single month. A line of seven army posts were established in 1848-49 after the Mexican War to protect the settlers of West Texas and included Fort Worth, Fort Graham, Fort Gates, Fort Croghan, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Lincoln and Fort Duncan. The fort had four officers' quarters, two for company quarters, three for laundresses, one for muleteers and employees, a hospital, a stable, a forage house, two storehouses, a guardhouse, a bakehouse, and a blacksmith shop. Commanding officers at Fort Gates were Montgomery (1849–50), James G. S. Snelling (1850–51), Carlos Adolphus Waite (1851–52), and Horace Haldeman (1852). Lieutenant George Pickett, leader of "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg, was stationed at Fort Gates in 1850–51. The fort was abandoned in March 1852.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5471202, matched on coordinates and name (56 m apart).
What the record says
- Elevation
- 232 m
How to reach it
- 1.0 mi off the Texas Brazos Trail
Named places within 25 miles
- North Fort Hood Softball Field: 1.4 mi
- Freedom Park: 3.3 mi
- Faunt Le Roy Park: 4.5 mi
- Raby Park: 4.7 mi
- Oglesby City Park: 10.6 mi
- Fort Hood Communities: 1.7 mi
- The Leon River Medicine Wheel: 2.8 mi
- Dr. John Calhoun Bates: 4.3 mi
- Graham, Jesse: 4.3 mi
- Coryell County: 4.6 mi
- Dalton Mountain: 3.4 mi
- Langford Mountain: 3.5 mi
- Henson Mountains: 5.1 mi
- King Mountain: 5.6 mi
- Bread Tray Mountain: 6.0 mi
- Coryell County Museum: 4.9 mi
- Texas Museum of Theatre and Broadcast: 16.8 mi
- 3rd Calvary Museum (Closed): 17.9 mi
- 1st cav War on Terror: 18.1 mi
- Showcase Room: 19.0 mi
- Brookhaven: 14.9 mi
- Bland: 15.8 mi
- Jonesboro: 19.2 mi
- Aiken: 20.1 mi
- Pendell: 23.9 mi
- Native Wildscape Garden (Bird, Bee, Butterfly & Bat Garden): 17.3 mi
- Kelly Flading Community Garden: 18.5 mi
- 10th St. Community Garden: 18.6 mi
- Alvarez Community Garden: 18.8 mi
- Killeen Municipal Community Garden: 21.6 mi
- Bird Blind: 13.5 mi
- CCC Rock Tower: 13.5 mi
- Historic Bell: 13.6 mi
- CCC Plaque: 13.6 mi
- Picnic Area: 12.8 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Fort Gates. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Mountain | WSW 245° | 427 m | 23.8 mi |
| Wayback Mountain | W 273° | 405 m | 20.8 mi |
| Twin Mountain | W 268° | 398 m | 19.5 mi |
| Long Mountain | SW 227° | 389 m | 21.9 mi |
| Herzog Mountain | SW 226° | 382 m | 21.3 mi |
| Twin Mountains | SW 223° | 381 m | 20.6 mi |
| Sevenmile Mountain | SSW 207° | 374 m | 24.5 mi |
| Anderson Mountain | SW 216° | 372 m | 21.5 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:35 | 19:11 | 19:43 |
| June solstice | 06:28 | 20:03 | 20:39 |
| September equinox | 07:20 | 18:57 | 19:29 |
| December solstice | 07:27 | 16:56 | 17:33 |
Local time (America/Chicago).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Feb–May, Sep–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 48 | 52 | 59 | 66 | 74 | 80 | 84 | 84 | 77 | 68 | 57 | 49 |
| Precip in | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Gatesville, 2 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/356751556
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