Fort Chadbourne

Fort Chadbourne was a fort established by the United States Army on October 28, 1852, in what is now Coke County, Texas, to protect the western frontier and the Butterfield Overland Mail route. It was manned by the 8th U.S. Infantry. During the early days of the American Civil War, the fort surrendered to the Confederates on February 28, 1861, even before Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

Fort Chadbourne, a Texas state historical site, was also added in 1973 to the National Register of Historic Places (#73001962). The fort was established by companies A and K of the Eighth United States Infantry and named for 2nd Lt. Theodore Lincoln Chadbourne who fought and was killed in the Mexican-American War in the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.

The small community of Fort Chadbourne, Texas, is located a few miles to the southwest of the original fort.

Fort Chadborne has received $1 million to build a visitor's center in memory of Roberta Cole Johnson of Brenham, Texas, by the executors of her estate, Charles and Joy Blake. The Blakes are members of the Concho Valley Archeological Society in San Angelo. They also matched another $125,000 allocation to restore the Butterfield stage stop.

On September 20, 2009, Garland H. Richards, current owner of the Chadbourne Ranch, which covers parts of Coke, Runnels, Taylor, and Nolan counties, was presented with the prestigious Harry Holt Award because of Richards' assistance to the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene. Richards presided over the annual "Round-Up for Rehab Supper" fund-raiser held at Fort Chadbourne. The award was presented by Woody Gilliland, chief executive officer of the Rehab center. It honors those in the agricultural community who support the mission of the center, which serves adults and children regardless of financial circumstance.

Texas State Senator Grady Hazlewood, father of the farm-to-market road program, was born at Old Fort Chadbourne in 1902.