FORT DAVIS Administrative History

Visitor safety at Fort Davis faced several hurdles in the early years of park management. The extensive repairs and alterations of structures left areas where unsuspecting patrons could harm themselves, and the potential for falling debris and walls was ever present. So too was the prospect of vandalism or damage to the structures after hours. To control these factors, the park required that rangers live on the premises (first in the old officers quarters, then in the new compound on the east side of the park) . Superintendent Frank Smith also did not have a chief of law enforcement, given the small staff on hand. Thus he had to rely upon the assistance of local sheriffs, and upon the distant U.S. Commissioner's courts in El Paso or Odessa (ironically, the nearby Marfa commissioner lacked jurisdiction in Jeff Davis County). When the mostly minor cases of vandalism and trespass were uncovered at the park, the staff also discovered that local courts were too busy to handle them. Smith and his employees thus had to work with law enforcement officials as best they could to bring the park under the protection of area officers and judges. [36]

Soon after his arrival at Fort Davis in the fall of 1971, Derek Hambly assessed the law enforcement policies of his new park and decided to update them in light of his experiences at a heavily visited national seashore (Padre Island) . Hambly chose to furnish his rangers with firearms while on active duty, but to restrict their use only to cases where "a fleeing felon may be shot at after he has been commanded to halt, even if such shooting results in death to him." The superintendent also impressed upon his rangers the fact that "they may become subject to serious administrative or judicial actions if they misuse their authority." Hambly believed that he and the supervisory park ranger-historian would be the only personnel involved in law enforcement, but that the inability of the local sheriff to respond quickly to an emergency would require the carrying of weapons by these two individuals. Even though "the overwhelming majority of visitors to the area," said Hambly, "are genuinely interested in the historical aspects of the area," and "problems have been almost non-existent," he noted that the park handled admissions fees for some 100,000 visitors per year. In addition, the book exhibits in the visitors generated some $7,000 for the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association. These might tempt someone to rob the park, as would the wealth of historical artifacts and the "collection of guns, many in working order, that might be attractive targets for thieves." He also reported that Fort Davis' proximity to Mexico brought illegal aliens into the vicinity, as well as narcotics traffic (primarily marijuana). To balance visitor security with the desire not to frighten patrons, Hambly decided to have his staff only wear their weapons when conditions dictated, and to require mandatory training once per year, with individual target practice undertaken every three months. [37]

In matters of building security, the superintendents worried most about the damage caused by fire. The high volume of dry brush accumulating in such an arid climate could harm not only the range and outlying structures, but also the valuable contents collected for deposit in the visitor center and museum. To that end, chief ranger Bob Crisman developed a working relationship between the park staff, the Davis Mountains State Park, and the volunteer fire department of the town of Fort Davis, to protect the natural and historic resources at the post. This included by 1969 a 100-gallon tank, 10 fire hoses, 35 portable fire extinguishers, and "a well stocked cache of hand tools for grass and brush fires." All park personnel were expected to respond to fire emergencies, and would be trained under NPS regulations. This was because the response time from local organizations could be lengthy: 30-45 minutes for the Fort Davis town volunteers, and over one hour for the McDonald Observatory fire-fighting team . One additional burden for staff in fire management was the fact that the park could not afford to hire a night watchman. Thus the three families living in the housing compound would have to be on alert for fires on site in the evening, and to bear the brunt of early firefighting should a conflagration break out. [38]

The issue of fire had a restorative as well as debilitating feature for the park service, and in 1972 the regional office asked Superintendent Hambly to develop a plan for "prescription fires" to "manipulate vegetation towards a definite objective, i.e., fuel reduction, removal of undesirable vegetation, favoring desirable vegetation cover in an area, etc." Hambly's staff conducted preliminary research into the history of fire at the site, and led the superintendent to write his superiors: "We are at a loss to understand how fire management could be incorporated into the total operation of Fort Davis." Their reasoning was that "we have no indication, historically or otherwise, that the historic or natural scene was dependent upon fire." Hambly agreed that the Historic Resources Management Plan and Historic Studies Management Plan of April 1971 had indicated the presence of intruding vegetation. Yet he did not approve of "controlled burning" to eradicate this. Prior to the creation of the park, cattle grazing brought to the area mesquite and other brush that posed fire hazards. Yet these had been removed by hand since the early 1960s, and the prohibition on grazing kept the growth from returning. The park also had areas surrounding the historic structures mowed regularly to reduce their potential for fire. Hambly concluded: "Deliberate management of undesired vegetation through fire could only be effected in a small area, and such fires would endanger certain historical structures and would leave a blackened area for a year unless there was heavy precipitation in which case growth would then be lush and little would have been accomplished." [39]

The only other source of structural damage to buildings and grounds at Fort Davis was the unlikely occurrence of flash flooding. In June 1974, the staff prepared for Superintendent Hambly an "Emergency Operation Plan" that included the response strategies for such an event. The report noted that Fort Davis still relied upon the historic diversion ditches and canals built in the late-nineteenth century to carry water around the post structures as it flowed from Hospital Canyon down to Limpia Creek. The staff hypothesized that flash flooding, while not in the recent memory of local residents, could be of substantial enough proportions to overwhelm the ditch system, resulting in severe damage to the historic site. Nothing of this nature occurred in the first three decades of the park's existence, but Fort Davis witnessed in October 1978 an indication of the power of nature in the arid West. In September of that year the park received some seven inches of rain over the course of six days, with 2.85 inches of that falling within one 24-hour period. Superintendent William Wallace reported to the Southwest Region that "the adobe walls in the historic structures without roof covers became saturated from direct rain and ground percolation." This in turn "disintegrated some previously stabilized sections of wall and/or foundations resulting in the loss of some complete wall structures and a large portion of one two-story building." Wallace thus asked the regional office to send a repair crew immediately, since "other structures were weakened to the point where additional rainfall or winds could result in loss of the entire walls or buildings." [40]

Of less concern than natural disasters, but equally important for management of the park, was resolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s of the boundaries of Fort Davis. Regional officials in July 1968 discovered that the NPS had not acquired all lands within the defined boundaries of the park, and asked Superintendent Frank Smith to determine how to gain control of some 12.64 acres still in private hands. Bob Crisman responded to the regional directive by researching the purchase records, learning that some $5,000 of the original allocation made in 1961 had not been paid to the Simmons/Jackson family. The chief ranger noted that "land prices in the area vary from $40 per acre to $1,000 per acre, depending on the size, quality, and location of the parcels involved." The acreage in question was in Hospital Canyon, which Crisman described as "rough, rocky terrain . . . with little or no development potential and little grazing value." He thus recommended that the NPS offer no more than $50 per acre, and the "top price should be under $1,000 and probably around $750.00." [41]

Crisman's research motivated the regional office to examine its options for acquisition of the Fort Davis inholding, with only $1,900 remaining from the original land-purchase fund to be applied to the parcel. The acting chief of the NPS' Office of Land and Water Rights wrote to Superintendent Smith in August 1968, stating that this sum "would not go very far in securing a survey, having the tract appraised, obtaining title evidence, and title insurance policy, as well as paying the landowner the value of the land." Washington office records also indicated that "there is approximately three acres of land within the boundaries owned by Mr. H.E. Sproul." The NPS official thus suggested to Smith that he entertain with Sproul the possibility of sale, believing that the park service could acquire the extra funds for purchase. Bobby Crisman thus met with Clifford Harriman of the NPS Lands Division in September 1968, reporting that "after two days of work with him we have successfully negotiated a donation of the 12.64 acre inholding on our west boundary. " The land had been owned not by Mr. Sproul, but by longtime rancher J.W. Espy. Because of the expenses involved, and the need for Fort Davis to control the acreage, Crisman convinced Mr. Espy that donating property that he could no longer graze with any effectiveness was in the best interests of all parties. This left only a parcel along the south boundary owned by M.H. Sproul that could be acquired by private developers, and Superintendent Hambly believed that the rancher would not jeopardize the neighboring national or state parks. [42]

Concern about the precise boundaries of Fort Davis had been sparked in part by initiatives taken in the late 1960s to focus more upon the natural and ecological resources of the park; a situation that had been somewhat neglected because of the high profile of historical research in the park's early years. Frank Smith had begun work in October 1966 to link the Tall Grass and North Ridge Nature Trails shared by the Davis Mountains State Park and Fort Davis. The state park would have a series of trailside panels that "present the botanical facts, and the principal coverage of ecology." Once hikers crossed onto NPS land, "they will find that the labels deal with the reaction of people to the plants, and with facts and sometimes philosophical comments about them." Smith had no naturalists on staff, and thus had to ask the regional office to identify and suggest language for the label copy on the trail signs. Smith also paid attention to regional directives regarding wildlife. "Wildlife viewing by visitors," Smith informed the SWR director, "is generally limited to a few insects and an occasional snake." He thus wondered if Fort Davis had anything to offer the team of regional naturalists who wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, and Fort Davis as part of a larger study of Chihuahuan Desert ecology. [43]

Park Service officials concerned about the plant and animal life of the Davis Mountains did come to Fort Davis in the early- and mid-1970s to discuss plans to rid the area of pests, and to protect the aging cottonwood grove that had served so many generations of Fort Davis residents as a picnic grounds. Derek Hambly decided to build at the park a small herbarium, which by 1975 contained "253 species representing 64 families." The former Padre Island naturalist wanted his staff to discover "what connection any of [the species] might have with the historic aspects of the area." The superintendent believed that "pioneers, military units, and native Indians used plants for food, medicines, decorations or building materials." Yet his own studies indicated that "except for those areas directly concerned with Indian history," there was "little if anything said about the role [that] plants played in the settling of the country." Hambly wanted "the identification of plants that are of historical importance [to] be made a part of each Historical Resource Management Plan." He also hoped that "some attention [would] be paid to including plant uses into interpretive displays and programs of areas other than those concerned with Indian history." [44]

Ecological studies also extended to the increased usage of water at Fort Davis, especially the declining rate of recharge of the park's main water wells. After seven years of visitation and construction work Superintendent Smith had reported in September 1970 that "each year the water level seems to take longer to recover after the summer season." That particular summer the park staff "had some doubt for a few days as to whether or not the well was going to maintain a pumping rate high enough to meet the heavy visitor use." Smith had his staff study the problem, and reported to the regional office that "there seems to be a possibility that the well which provides water for the Fort Davis town system may be draining water from below us." Drawdown had reached only five feet above the pump, and "already this spring [1971] the pump has gone into a cycling pattern at least once, repeatedly drawing down the water to the point of cutoff before refilling the tank." A similar shortage the previous year had not occurred until "well into the summer months," leading the staff to conclude that "it is a harbinger of trouble this summer, when irrigation and visitor demands treble the current water needs." A deeper well would not suffice if the park could not expand the storage capacity of the existing tank (50,000 gallons), and Smith further noted that "there is little possibility of obtaining water from the city system without considerable expense." [45]

Given the centrality of water to visitor comfort and staff operations at Fort Davis, the NPS moved quickly to address Smith's concerns about the park's need for more water storage capacity. In May 1971, Donald C. Barrett, hydrologist with the NPS' Western Service Center in San Francisco, came to Fort Davis to examine the status of well-drilling. Barrett spoke with Pablo Bencomo about the history of water problems at the park, and then traveled to Alpine to discuss the matter with the contractor who had installed the original pumping equipment at Fort Davis. The NPS hydrologist undertook a series of tests, compared his findings to the records of water storage and use at the park, and concluded: "There is little doubt . . . that a steady decline in the capacity of the well has occurred due to the lowering of the regional water table." This caused the pump to switch on and off more frequently, threatening the system with electrical failure. Barrett speculated that climatic changes in the Davis Mountains area were in part to blame for the loss of water, but he still encouraged the NPS to plan for additional drilling, perhaps in the northeast corner of the park, which had been identified recently by a geologist from the University of Texas at El Paso, Dr. E.M.P. Lovejoy. The latter was conducting a survey of the geology of far west Texas for the state government, and contended that drawing water from that sector of the site would "take advantage of any recharge from the nearby river." [46]

The cost of drilling a well at Fort Davis, and the uncertainty of water quality in the immediate area, led the NPS in 1971 to approach the town of Fort Davis to initiate a contract to provide the Park Service with both water and sewer services. Superintendent Smith noted the high cost of connecting the park to the municipal water system ($3,200), which could be balanced against the low rates for water delivery (50,000 gallons per month at the rate of 45 cents per thousand gallons). Also prompting Smith's call for purchase of town water was the continued decline of the Fort Davis water table, which he described in June 1971 as "going down at a rate of 75 to 100 gallons production per day." The crisis conditions had led the superintendent to rent a gas generator to pump water from the "old church camp well, which might provide enough water to keep the fire control supply in the storage tank." Park service regulations required Fort Davis to retain a reserve for firefighting, which Smith described as "less than 36,000 gallons, or about one hour's fire fighting time at full capacity." Without additional moisture that summer, Smith feared that "the emergency is growing a little greater every day," and that the most expedient solution was to purchase water from town at once. [47]

Water conservation became more urgent as the decade of the 1970s brought to west Texas the international energy crisis, spawned by the decision of several Arab oil-producing nations to quintuple the price of petroleum in response to the victory in 1973 of the state of Israel in its war with Egypt. While the escalation of prices benefitted the "oil patch" of west Texas (even as it raised rents in the Davis Mountains), Fort Davis and the NPS had to adhere to new rules and regulations about energy consumption, whether for heating and cooling, automobile transportation, or lighting. Among the procedures established by Superintendent Hambly in the fall of 1973 were promises to limit driving to 50 miles per hour (a burden in the wide-open spaces of the West); reduction of office hours (the new schedule would be 8:00AM-4:30PM); setting the temperature of park buildings at 68 degrees during daylight hours in the winter, and 60 degrees at night; using the photocopying machine only between the hours of 9:00-9:30AM, and 4:00-4:30PM; and a request to staff that they share rides to nearby towns like Alpine and Marfa to reduce personal energy consumption. Superintendent Hambly also offered a warning to his staff if they did not adhere to these new regulations: "I will also consider the lack of compliance with this memorandum, on the part of any employee, when position reviews come across my desk during your annual rating period." Hambly considered this "not a threat but simply the fact that compliance during this crisis is as much a part of your job as any other assigned duty." [48]

As the energy "crisis" deepened in the winter of 1973-1974, the NPS conducted surveys of its parks to determine further measures to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. Associate regional director Monte Fitch asked Fort Davis about the impact of higher gasoline prices and the notorious closing of gasoline stations on Sundays on park visitation. Superintendent Hambly reported that Fort Davis had witnessed striking declines in attendance, beginning in October 1973 and continuing all winter. Total visitation for the calendar year 1973 fell some 27 percent, with the months of October (44 percent) and December (48 percent) leading the way. One reason for this condition was the fact that Fort Davis' off-season patronage came primarily from families in the region who traveled on weekends. With gasoline supplies uncertain, and prices high, people would stay home rather than attempt the 400-mile roundtrip from El Paso, or the 350-mile loop from Midland-Odessa. "The fuel shortage," wrote Hambly in February 1974 to the regional office, "has apparently had a very negative effect on the local merchants." So rapid had been the reduction in their businesses that "they have started advertising in area papers to the point that gas is available on Sundays in Fort Davis. " Unfortunately, this had little effect on weekend travel, and Hambly suggested to his superiors that his park could be closed on Sundays without much problem. "I doubt that our closing would affect the crisis one way or another," said the superintendent, but "if local business and our public image with that business is the primary concern, we should remain open since we are one of the prime attractions in the area along with the McDonald Observatory and the seventy-six mile scenic loop drive." Hambly thought it counterproductive for his park to close if the Davis Mountains State Park remained open, as its campgrounds "makes this a twenty-four hour area if the two units were considered as a single entity." [49]

The staff at Fort Davis worked with their superintendent that winter to devise some imaginative solutions to the shortfall of funds, visitors, and energy supplies. On February 15, 1974, Hambly sent to the Southwest Region the park's recommendations for energy conservation. The staff saw visitation as "the first order of business," and prepared a survey of "visitor trends for the past five years--origination of visitors, percentages, of local population, etc. ," to ascertain "how many there will be as compared to previous years." The NPS had also asked parks to identify sources of public transportation in their areas, and Fort Davis reported that the recently inaugurated passenger train service called "Amtrak" would have a stop in the Marfa area, and that it would increase its schedule from weekly arrivals and departures to daily. Hambly suggested that his park work with other tourist attractions in the Davis Mountains to establish "bus tours from the train deport that would last for up to a week and would allow visitation to Fort Davis, the McDonald Observatory, Big Bend, and possibly a trip to Chihuahua, Mexico." The NPS could also work with the "Texas Trail System" to bring visitors to the western part of the state. Then the staff examined issues that could be addressed internally, like "a reduced entry fee for anyone entering the various Parks by any way other than the family car;" opening the park later, because "many areas experience little visitation right after opening each day;" "the use of solar energy to run this area since the sun shines about 95 percent of the time;" and the issuance of "short-term livestock grazing permits" to "keep grasses and weeds mowed rather than use mowers like we do now. " Hambly realized that this last concept invited many new problems ("over-grazing, disease, lack of fencing controls in visitor use areas"), but he hoped that the regional office might have "other areas that this suggestion would better apply to." [50]

One unintended consequence of the policies of energy reduction and limited budget was the need by 1975 to eliminate historical activities and maintenance scheduling. Superintendent Hambly had to cancel plans for hiring six seasonal interpreters for the summer of 1976 in order to pay for basic upkeep of the post. This in turn required Fort Davis to eliminate several historic programs that the staff had developed as part of its "living history" agenda. Among these were the "twice per week drill demonstration of 1880's military," the "Apache Indian camp," the "Cavalry Soldier's Camp," the "post hospital talk," the "adobe manufacture demonstration," and the "post garden activities." When added to the decision to reduce operations per day by 3.5 hours, and not using one employee at the visitors center desk during the week, Fort Davis would save enough money to provide for mowing, custodial work, and painting of the porches and trim of the historic buildings. [51]

These activities were the heart and soul of efforts in the 1970s to maximize the potential of the historic building rehabilitation from the previous decade, as well as the continuation of research into the details of nineteenth-century daily life at the post. The 15 years prior to 1980 witnessed several initiatives that linked structural preservation with historical study of the old frontier fort, and then the attempt to dramatize that for visitors in a concept called "living history." Yet the persistent forces of park service regulation, local sentiments about the life of Fort Davis, and the churning of social and political life nationwide that affected all other aspects of park management would alter the central feature of Fort Davis: its shift in the 1970s from a construction site to a laboratory of the western military past.