Abilene: Fort Phantom Hill

sign in front of stone building says Fort Phantom Hill, Post on the clear fork of the Brazos, Established 1851
Drawing of squares and rectangles in a plan of Fort Phantom Hill

Rough plan of the fort, c. 1853 (National Archives and Records Administration)

Stone building with one window in a wooded area

Ammunition storehouse at Fort Phantom Hill

Brick well with cactus in front and chimney ruins in background

The old well at Fort Phantom Hill.

Three chimneys standing in a field

Chimneys are all that remain of the officer’s quarters at the fort.

Portrait of an African American soldier in dress uniform

Sergeant John Harris, 10th United States Cavalry Regiment, served in Texas and the Indian Territory during the conflicts on the southern plains. (SMU DeGolyer Library)

Eight soldiers resting in a wooded area

Buffalo soldiers protected the western frontier.

Soldier reenactor holding an American flag in a field between two adults and two children

Fort Phantom Hill occasionally hosts living history programs for visitors.

Interpretive signs provide a history of this property, which the U.S. Army established in 1851. Sporadically occupied, the site served as a frontier garrison—including a stint under Confederate control— and as a stagecoach and mail stop. The 9th U.S. Cavalry, a unit of the famous Buffalo Soldiers, fought Comanche and Kiowa Indian forces here in 1869. Visitors to the site can follow trails among the ruins, which include buildings, foundations and a large number of now-orphaned chimneys scattered around the 22-acre property.

Fort Phantom Hill
  • Hours:  Daily from dawn until dusk.
  • Admission: none
  • 10818 FM 600, Abilene, TX
  • 325-677-1309 
  • Visit Website
  • National Register of Historic Places
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