Mason, Texas

The Fort Mason City RV park is operated by the city, and backs up to Comanche Creek, surrounded by baseball fields, a playground, and a 9 hole golf course. It's a beautifully maintained, quiet park, and reservations are definately recommended as it's very popular with locals as well as travelers. We were lucky to find a spot, as most had already been reserved for the weekend.

A small marker just outside the campground gives details of the history.

The settlement of Mason grew up around Fort Mason which was established by the United States War Department as a front-line defense against Kiowa, Lipan Apache and Comanche, on July 6, 1851.
The fort was named in honor of George Thomson Mason, a United States Army second lieutenant killed in the Thornton Affair during the Mexican–American War near Brownsville, TX, on April 25, 1846.

The fort was home to several historic figures, among them Gen. Robert E. Lee. The fort was the last command for Gen. Lee before he left the U.S. Army to join the Confederacy. Ft. Mason is part of the Texas Forts Trail, a trail we'd like to follow one day so we can get the whole picture.

This is a fascinating little town, and it's too bad we lost the extra day we had planned to explore here. This is the prime place in the state to look for Texas Topaz, a section of the fort has been restored and is open for tours, and then there's the bronze statue of Old Yeller. Did you ever read Fred Gipson's book, Old Yeller - or see the Disney movie? Gipson grew up around Mason, and his stories definately reflect the area. You can read more about that here in a Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine article.

The downtown area is quaint, with shops and cafe's clustered around a classic courthouse. This place is just begging to be explored! We'll be back!