Special Events at the Fort

Fort Concho hosts several special events every year both
as fundraisers and for public interest.

In 2008, Fort Concho plans several special displays in addition to its period rooms and displays in the various historic buildings.

At the Visitor Center in Barracks 1, Oakes St @ Avenue C, the fort will have on display "Seventy-Five Years of Fort Concho Preservation", an impressive line of "before and after" photos that document the preservation effort at Fort Concho that dates to the first efforts of Fort Concho Museum founder, Mrs. Ginerva Wood Carson, in 1928.

In the Conference Room, the fort has a special display on Buffalo Soldiers (the famed black troops of the western frontier), western paintings, and various displays on Fort Concho's programs and events.

Drop by the Visitor Center and see the displays and exhibits.  There is no charge to enter this building.  We also have a gift shop that carries a wide selection of history books, souvenirs, clothing, and children's items.

The Bill Stebbins Weaponry Collection
Now on Display in Barracks 1

From his days as a boy in the exciting city of Chicago in the 1930's and 1940's, Bill took an avid interest in the history around him. One of his earliest memories was visiting the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. While his education at Washington University in St. Louis emphasized Civil Engineering, Bill never lost his love of our nation's heritage. He served his country in a military construction battalion in the Korean War and began a forty-year career in various highway department offices in Texas and other Midwest states.

Bill said he first visited San Angelo and "discovered" Fort Concho in the early 1950's. He noted that one had to look carefully to find the fort, as its buildings were changed with modern additions and the Parade Ground was covered with both streets and post-1900 structures. When he was assigned to the state highway office in Odessa in the 1980's, Bill became one of our more loyal and longer commuting re-enactors, attending virtually every major event, including the Cotton Bowl Parade in Dallas in 1991. Bill came from sturdy stock as his mother, Bernice, volunteered with us until her late 90's.

The weapons and artifacts on display represent just a small part of the large collection of books and items Bill has so generously donated to Fort Concho for future study. He has spent a lifetime amassing a superior collection of materials and memories, and we are grateful that he chose to share them with our guests.

Buffalo Soldier Heritage Day
Sunday, February 24, 12-4 pm

Come celebrate the accomplishments of the Buffalo Soldiers during Buffalo Soldier Heritage Day, on Sunday, February 24, from 12-4 pm in the Barracks 5-6 Courtyard and Quartermaster Building at Fort Concho. Take Flipper Street from South Oakes Street, just a half mile south of downtown San Angelo.

Due to several members of the Buffalo Soldiers having the flu this week, the Buffalo Soldier Heritage Day celebration of this Sunday, February 24, will be scaled back. The meal has been cancelled, but there will be coffee, soft drinks, and cookies throughtout the day. With only a few members of the unit available, the drills and firing demonsrations have been cancelled, but the photo and equipment display in the fort Quartermaster Building will take place. The Base Ball game at 3 pm will depend on the availability of willing volunteers from the audience, and all ages are welcome to try their hand at 1880s Base Ball.

The Buffalo Soldiers received this nickname from their Indian foes who equated their hair style to that of the sacred buffalo. The troops took this as a sign of respect. Fort Concho had soldiers from all four Buffalo Soldier regiments, the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry, units established by an Act of Congress in 1866. Buffalo Soldiers served at Fort Concho from 1869 through 1885, covering sixteen years of this post's twenty-two year existence.

Fort Concho's Buffalo Soldier living history program was established nearly twenty years ago. Its volunteers perform at the fort and at other events across the state. For more information about the Buffalo Soldier and other living history program, go to the "Follow the Troops" section of our web page.