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Four Historical Trails The
“West” was won this part of the country over a hundred and fifteen years
ago when most of the Forts in this area were closed. Many youth
and adults were unaware of the importance those forts played in the settling
of West Texas. The newest trail to be approved by the Boy Scouts of America
is the Ft. Davis Historical Trail. This new trail was developed by David
O'Neill, Field Director of the Buffalo Trail Council.
David O'Neill was a former Eagle Scout in Concho Valley Council and had hiked the Fort Concho and Fort McKavett trails as a Scout. After moving to Buffallo Trail Council as a professional Scouter, he became interested in Ft. Davis and felt a need to develop a trail there. It was approved by the Boy Scouts of America in 2007 and has become a part of the approved historical trails of the BSA.
To help the youth to become a part of this history, the Concho Valley Council established three historical trails for youth and adults to hike and become eligible for a historical patch, and in the case of one trail, a metal. Fort McKavett The
first historical trail to be established was the Fort McKavett Historical
Trail in 1976, that started at Camp Sol Mayer and ended up at Fort
McKavett, some three miles away. The participants had to camp and
cook three meals at camp, hike the trail and then write a 200 word essay
on the importance of Fort McKavett before they could purchase a patch and
metal to wear on their uniform.
The patch and metal were designed by Scouter Ray Kedziora, using a photo of an old dead tree with the fort flag pole in the background. Edward J. Trust, a senior at Angelo State University and James L. Dreyer, a local radio announcer, developed a slide show to promote the trail. This trail is still in use today with a revised trail guide that requires a person to fill in the blanks as they hike the trail and does not require one to camp overnight or cook meals at Camp Sol Mayer. The outline of the Fort McKavett HIstorical Trail can be viewed and downloaded at Fort McKavett Historical Trail. Fort Concho
The next trail that was established was the Fort Concho Historical Trail on October 1, 1981, that started at the old Fireman’s Park on Concho Street in downtown San Angelo and went two miles to end up at Fort Concho.  The
hikers, using a “fill in the blanks” guide sheet, walked through historical
San Angelo and learned about the early settlement before crossing the North
Concho River and walking through Fort Concho. The walk and tour took
about two hours. The trail is still popular today and used mostly
by Cub Scouts. The trail has been updated twice, once in 1996 by
Frank Hilton and again in 2006 by Suzanne Campbell, Curator of the West
Texas Collection and Lisa Mahler, Office Manager at Concho Valley Council,
BSA. Also, a new patch was designed in 2006 by Hugh Campbell of San Angelo.
The old patch is to your left. The new patch is to your right.
The outline of the Fort Concho Historical Traill can be viewed and downloaded at: Fort Concho Historical Trail. Fort Stockton The
last historical trail in the Concho Valley Council to be established was
the Fort Stockton Historical Trail on September 21, 1985 when 178 Boy Scouts,
Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts hiked the trail. This three-mile walk
stated in front of the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum on Callaghan Street
in Fort Stockton and took the group through both the location of Camp Stockton
and Fort Stockton. It also took the group through St. Gail, the little
settlement that grew beside the military fort. A special guide was
used by the participants. A special thanks went to Mary Kay Shannon,
Curator of the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum for her research and help in
making this trail possible. This trail was discontinued in April
1992 when they ran out of patches and decided not to order anymore.
At the same time Fort Stockton was ungoing some major repairs and renovation.
All three trails and guides
were developed under the guidance of Frank T. Hilton, then Program Director
of the Concho Valley Council, who wrote the trail guides.
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