Fort Mason was established July 6, 1851, in what later became Mason County. Established by the United States War Department as a front-line defense against Kiowa, Lipan Apache, and Comanche, it was named in honor of Lieutenant George Thomson Mason.
At various times from 1856 to 1861 this was the home fort for Albert Sidney Johnston, George H. Thomas, Earl Van Dorn and Robert E. Lee. Fort Mason was evacuated by Federal troops, March 29, 1861, and reoccupied after the Civil War until 1869.
Fort Mason is well known as Robert E. Lee’s last command with the United States Army. In a letter home on January 23, 1861, Lee wrote:
“I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the union. Secession is nothing but revolution.”
The fort was abandoned by the military in the 1870s and restored by a group of local citizens in 1975.
~Photo Credit: Jeff Durst
Fort Mason is located at 204 W. Spruce Street, Mason, Texas 76856, it is open from 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM.
It is view at your own pace with plexiglass on the windows and doors, nice overlook of the City of Mason.