Fort Mason, TX

1-12-16:  South Llano River State Park had a hunt today and closed the park, so that meant an extra day off for David and me.  First, we had an "L" day in Junction: did laundry, called Laura Lee, went to the library,  and lunch at Lum's.  Then we drove over to Mason to check it out.  The ladies at headquarters told me they like it better than Fredricksburg.  It's an agri town on the Comanche Creek sw of Mason Mountain, on the Edwards Plateau and part of the Llano Uplift.  The Uplift is a roughly circular geologic dome of Precambrian rock, primarily granite, in Central TX.  Enchanted Rock near Fredricksburg is one of the more famous of these formations.

On the way over we passed a couple of cool sights -- Teacup Mountain and a field of huge granite boulders.  These are part of the Llano Uplift. Decided we'd come back and get pix of those.  Really liked Mason.  During President Taylor's administration in 1849, a line of forts were established from the Red River to the mouth of the Rio Grande to encourage the settlement of the southern border of TX.  In early 1851 an expedition scouting locations for forts recognized the natural advantages of a hill just south of the present town of Mason near a free flowing stream. It was selected as Ft. Mason, likely named after 2nd Lt. George Mason who was killed in Brownsville during the Mexican War.  the nearest settlement to Ft. Mason was Fredricksburg, established by a colony of German emigrants.

 Mason is a cute town with a few shops, resale shops, cafes, and the old Fort Mason on top of the hill, now known as Post Hill.  We didn't stop at the fort today because it looked kinda busy.  Another day.

The boulder field, we learned, is the only place in Texas to dig for topaz.  The fields are on private ranches and 3 of them allow topaz hunters for a fee.  The lady at the above Topaz store gave us lots of info on the situation.

The Topaz store was full of antiques, gifts, and a giant antique safe which held some beautiful topaz gems -- natural and cut.

1-26-16:  Returned to Mason today with Jerri and George. It's a cold, drizzly day.  It's kinda becoming tradition for the 4 of us to take daytrips to historical sites in this kind of weather. Not on purpose.  LBJ Ranch a couple of years ago and now this.

Tho there isn't much left of Ft. Mason, it provides a gorgeous view from the top of the hill.

gotta love an old button collection

During the decade from 1850-1860, Fort Mason was commanded by Robert E. Lee among others. Colonel Lee was in the U,S. Army while stationed at Ft. Mason.

When the Civil War came on in 1861, the troops stationed at Ft. Mason were needed elsewhere and the settlers were left at the mercy of the hostile Indian, who lost no time harassing and killing unprotected settlers.  Thus the Minute Men were organized by locals to pursue and fight the Indians at a minute's notice.  A Ranger company was formed of men from nearby San Saba, Llano, Burnett, and Mason Counties.  This company was mustered into the Confederate Army in 1863.

As we left the hill, we passed this statue of Old Yeller in front of the library.  Mason is also the home of the author of this book, Fred Gipson.  Guess what our grandson's are going to get when we see them in April?

2-2-16:  David and I decided to take a drive on this beautiful, sunny day and our first destination was Mason.  On the way we stopped and got pix of Teacup Mtn.  The pictures don't do it justice.  It's a sight to behold as it looks like a big building on top of a mountain at first.  But it's a unique rock formation.

Not far down the road from Teacup Mountain was this gap which was a great view.

This guy was kinda curious about us.

Just before Mason, we got some pictures of the ranchland which had the huge granite boulders.  Jerri and Shari did some digging for topaz on the Seaquist Ranch about a week ago.

While I ran into the Chamber of Commerce for postcards and info, David got some great shots of the courthouse on the Mason square.

statue of a cowboy

historic jailhouse

Construction on the 3rd and present jail began in 1894.  Since its completion it has been in continuous use.  24 sheriffs have served Mason Co. and most have lived on the first floor if this jailhouse.  The prisoners are kept on the 2nd floor.

The Seaquist House just off the square

it's going through some restoration inside

really hope it'll be open for tours next time we're in the area

I could live here!  Wonderful, friendly town.  No Walmart, but not too far to some in neighboring towns.

Happy Trails,

George Thomson Mason, Anna Mebus Martin, and Old Yeller