Fort Phantom Hill
Fort Phantom Hill is a historic site in Texas, at a modelled elevation of 492 m. Flattop stands 618 m to the southeast, 13 miles off. Texas Forts Trail runs past it. 2 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Fort Phantom Hill, also called the Camp on the Clear Fork, is a former United States Army installation located in Jones County, Texas. The fort was established in 1851 as part of a line of forts in Texas to protect migrants passing through the state on their way to California. The US Army abandoned the fort in 1854 and it was shortly thereafter mostly destroyed by fire. In 1858, it became a station of the Butterfield-Overland Mail route until it moved out of Texas with the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. During the war, the fort was occupied by Confederate frontier troops until the Confederacy's defeat and surrender. Following the US Army's return to Texas after the Civil War, Fort Phantom Hill was used as a subpost of the larger, newer Fort Griffin until 1875. After its final abandonment in 1875, a town was established at Fort Phantom Hill that flourished in the 1870s and ceased to exist by 1900. Following the fort's purchase by John Guitar in 1928, there was renewed public interest in the fort that led to its opening to the public in 1972. In 1997, Fort Phantom Hill was transferred to the Fort Phantom Hill Foundation. The ruins of the fort were added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1972.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5471819, matched on coordinates and name (157 m apart).
What the record says
- Built
- 1936
- Material
- aluminium
What to expect
- Operated by
- Texas Historical Commission
How to reach it
- On the Texas Forts Trail
Named places within 25 miles
- Round Mound Cemetery: 5.2 mi
- 8.6 Miles South to Fort Phantom Hill: 7.6 mi
- Lueders Cemetery: 9.6 mi
- Smith's Station: 10.1 mi
- Bud Matthews Switch of the Texas Central Railway: 11.4 mi
- Johnson Park: 2.0 mi
- Sea Bee Park: 7.4 mi
- Hawley Little League Park: 8.3 mi
- North Park: 10.6 mi
- Allen Ridge Boardwalk Plaza Park: 11.6 mi
- Jacob's Dream: 12.1 mi
- Marcel and Wilfred: 13.3 mi
- The Three Bears: 13.3 mi
- Charlotte & Wilbur: 13.3 mi
- Stuart Little: 13.3 mi
- Women for Abilene Christian University Museum: 12.3 mi
- Frontier Texas!: 13.6 mi
- Big Country Squadron Commemorative Air Force: 13.6 mi
- Grace Cultural Center and Museum: 13.7 mi
- Discovery Center: 14.4 mi
- Fort Phantom Hill: 0.0 mi
- Petrified Tree: 11.9 mi
- Flattop: 13.1 mi
- Skinout Mountain: 22.6 mi
- Callahan County Eastbound Rest Area: 15.9 mi
- Callahan County Westbound Rest Area: 16.1 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Fort Phantom Hill. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flattop | SE 134° | 618 m | 13.1 mi |
| Skinout Mountain | WNW 297° | 571 m | 22.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:43 | 19:18 | 19:51 |
| June solstice | 06:32 | 20:14 | 20:50 |
| September equinox | 07:28 | 19:04 | 19:37 |
| December solstice | 07:38 | 17:00 | 17:38 |
Local time (America/Chicago).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 44 | 48 | 55 | 63 | 72 | 79 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 65 | 54 | 45 |
| Precip in | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Abilene 6ese, 15 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element node/12438054053
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