Quartermaster Workshops, MONOGRAPHS OF KINNEY COUNTY’S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

This bi-weekly feature examines the enduring unique architecture to be found here in Kinney County by spotlighting individual buildings and providing brief histories, complimented by period photographs. Our intent is to explore the past, inspire the present, and build the future by showcasing the remarkable associations and legacies of structures which have stood the test of time and continue to contribute so much to the exceptional heritage of Kinney County. Our next subject is the “Quartermaster Corps Workshops” a contributing structure to the Fort Clark Historic District and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 

On Saturday, May 9, 1891, United States Secretary of War, Russell A. Alger, approved the plan for a new stone building at Fort Clark, Texas and allocated $3,000 ($106,805 in today’s dollars) from the U.S. Treasury for its construction. The building was completed just six months later in November 1891 at a cost of $2,990, saving the government ten dollars. The single story building was built of regularly coursed square cut ashlar limestone with pitch-facing and featured segmented arch window and door lintels with pitch-faced voussiors (a wedge- shaped or tapered stone used to construct an arch) and tooled margins. In other words, superior stone craftsmanship by skilled masons. Pitch-faced stonework is a traditional and high-quality building finish where the face of each stone is hand-pitched by a mason to create a raised, textured, and bold surface. This technique uses a pitching tool to chisel away the edges, leaving a convex, textured center on the face of each block. This gives the finished masonry depth and a distinctive, hand-crafted look.

In all likelihood the builder was local master stone mason James Cornell (1835-1900). Cornell was born in England and came to Kinney County in the 1860’s, where he established himself as a builder of sturdy stone buildings. He is credited with building the officer’s quarters and barracks at Fort Clark along with many of the public buildings constructed in the original town of Brackett in the 1870s. He later made himself into one of the town’s most prosperous merchants. His four daughters became the matriarchs of Kinney County’s most
prominent families. James Cornell is the great-great-grandfather of Zack Davis.

The completed 24x150 foot building across from the post guard house contained six individual workshops, each separated by a sixteen inch thick interior stone wall, for the conduct of critical post quartermaster activities: a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop, a paint shop, a plumber and tinner shop, a saddler shop and a carpenter shop. Each shop was heated by a fireplace, except the blacksmith shop which was to have four forges. Actual window and door placement differs from the original plan, so we can speculate the shops were not located as the plan reflects. However, there are still six doorways on the front elevation. As the new century dawned the QMC Workshops were collectively designated Post building No. 73. The “shops” also took on new functions as motor vehicle maintenance and management of electricity became Quartermaster Corps responsibilities. Finally, in 1943, the interior space was converted into a bowling alley and used as a recreation building for the Buffalo Soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Division.

Now 134 years old the building has seen its share of remuddling by later civilian owners with replacement windows and doors, but its unique architectural qualities are still dominant. The building remains a classic example of the U.S. Army’s deliberate effort, at the close of the 19th century, to compete with civilian architecture in both style and character.