83R24150 JGH-D
By: Hughes H.R. No. 1875
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Proud citizens of Titus County are gathering at Lake
Bob Sandlin State Park on June 8, 2013, to celebrate the 175th
anniversary of the founding of Fort Sherman; and
WHEREAS, Sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, the Titus County Historical Preservation Society, and
the Titus County Historical Commission, this commemoration will
feature historical reenactors in period costume who will provide
information about the fort's history and the lives of its
inhabitants; and
WHEREAS, Established by the Republic of Texas in 1838 near
the spot where the Cherokee Trace crossed Big Cypress Creek, Fort
Sherman was built as a log stockade by Captain William B. Stout and
a detachment of 42 Red River Mounted Rangers; the fort was named for
Colonel Sidney Sherman, a commander in the Texas Army at the Battle
of San Jacinto and the man who coined the battle cry "Remember the
Alamo!"; and
WHEREAS, Fort Sherman was the first community in Titus County
and home to the Bell, Blundell, Coots, Dial, Dragoo, Gibson, and
Harris families until 1841; it provided the local settlers with a
refuge from Indian attack, and it also served as a rest and resupply
depot for early units of the Texas Rangers; in the 1840s, it was a
polling place for several elections; and
WHEREAS, After the threat from Indians diminished, the fort
was abandoned, and when Major John Pollard Gaines stopped there
with his cavalry unit in 1846 on his way to join the
Mexican-American War, he noted in his diary that a peach orchard had
begun to grow up in its ruins; and
WHEREAS, The fort continued to appear on various maps as late
as 1873, and eventually local farmers salvaged the last remaining
timber from the fort for their own purposes; today, the site of this
historic outpost is located within Lake Bob Sandlin State Park,
which also includes the site of a cemetery from the same period as
the fort; and
WHEREAS, The efforts of the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, the Titus County Historical Preservation Society, and
the Titus County Historical Commission to remember the brave
Rangers who built Fort Sherman and the resilient and self-reliant
settlers who lived there will help keep the memory of this unique
frontier outpost alive for further generations of Texans; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby recognize June 8, 2013, as Fort Sherman Day and
commemorate the fort's rich history and continuing legacy; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for the Titus County Historical Preservation Society and the Titus
County Historical Commission as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.