Fort Johnston (1)

Fort Johnston (1) (1840-1841) - Established in 1840 by Republic of Texas 1st Infantry companies D and E under the command of Captain John Holliday and named (probably) for General Albert Sidney Johnston. Post abandoned in 1841. Also known as Fort Johnson (2) Fort Johnston Marker Base Text Fort Johnston Marker Fort Johnston Locale Fort Johnston (1) History Established in 1840 at the direction of Colonel William G. Cooke by two Republic of Texas 1st Infantry companies under the command of Captain John Holliday. The fort was one of a number of frontier forts established at the direction of General Albert Sidney Johnston, Republic of Texas Secretary of War, to build a military road from the Red River to Austin. The original starting point was to have been Fort Inglish and the road was to end at Austin. The starting point became Fort Johnston and followed the route of the present day U.S. Highway 289 to the Cedar Springs Post in present day Dallas. The road then proceeded via the high ground route to Austin. The post was abandoned in May 1841 after the Texas Army was disbanded. Current Status Only a road marker remains on Georgetown Road. The marker attributes the fort's name to Colonel Francis W. Johnson but it is now widely believed that the fort was named for General Albert Sidney Johnston. Location:Marker and site location just west of Fink intersection of Georgetown Road and state highway 289 on Georgetown Road. Maps & Images Lat: 33.805562 Long: -96.698576 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 779' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 766 Pierce, Gerald S., Texas Under Arms: The Camps, Posts, Forts & Military Towns of the Republic of Texas 1836-1846, Encino Press, Austin TX, 1969, ISBN/ASIN: B0006CYB9I, page 80 Links: North American Forts - Fort Johnston The Handbook of Texas OnLine - Fort Johnson Visited: 3 Nov 2011