MONOGRAPHS OF KINNEY COUNTY’S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE (#12): 49ers

We know them now as the “49ers,” a name no doubt given them by the Guest Ranch when they were first made available as rental cottages in 1949. At that time they were “as good as new” at only seven years old and unoccupied for five years. In 1942 the 9th Cavalry was moved from Camp Funston, Kansas to Fort Clark. This historic Buffalo Soldier regiment had last served at Fort Clark in 1899. The 9th was to form the nucleus of the 2nd Cavalry Division as Fort Clark rapidly expanded to accommodate nearly 10,000 soldiers. The need to house a tenfold increase in married senior noncommissioned officers, warrant officers, and married high ranking government civilians became acute. To address this need the Quartermaster Corps constructed twenty-five single story concrete block duplexes which would provide comfortable quarters for fifty families. The buildings were numbered 401 through 425 and occupied an area southeast of the station hospital complex.     There were twenty-one two bedroom duplexes with 700 square feet of living space for each family and four three bedroom duplexes (Bldgs. 401, 404, 409 and 410) with 850 square feet per family. This family housing area had all the appearances of what today we would refer to as a housing project.

Historically the housing for married enlisted men at Fort Clark had always been sparse with the Army not feeling the need to provide any, as marriage was discouraged for enlisted soldiers. Only the post Hospital Steward, Commissary Sergeant, and Ordnance Sergeant could expect to be provided with quarters. Non-commissioned officers typically were assigned single rooms within the enlisted men's barracks. Detached houses for non-commissioned officers and their families were not constructed until the second half of the nineteenth century. While the Army tolerated NCO marriages before 1940, it actively discouraged and even prohibited enlisted men from marrying until World War II. Long before the Army began to design quarters specifically for senior non-commissioned officers it was quite common for career soldiers to marry laundresses and occupy their meager shanty style government quarters. On Fort Clark “suds row,” where the government homes of laundresses could be found, was located below the stables along what is now Crockett Road.

By 1939, a planner with the Planning Branch of the Quartermaster Corps compared an NCO housing area to the "office worker area" of a city. NCO family housing areas now constituted entire neighborhoods within increasingly large and complex installation plans. The Construction Service of the Quartermaster Corps developed standardized plans for NCO family housing that were comparable to small civilian suburban cottages and bungalows of the same era. Non-commissioned officers’ quarters are associated with the maintenance of a standing Army and with the evolution of living standards for military personnel. The construction of non-commissioned officer housing directly reflects the history and status of the military during their period of construction. Non-commissioned officer housing provides an insight into the hierarchy of the military and contributes to a military post’s historic district. The design of non-commissioned officer housing reflects the influence of civilian architecture on military designs. NCO quarters often are contributing elements in a post’s historic district, or could constitute a distinct historic district of their own. NCO quarters also may possess individual significance if it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type or period of construction. Most NCO quarters have been used as dwellings throughout their history. The buildings often have undergone modifications to meet modem living standards. Typically modified exterior features include porches, windows, carports, roof materials, and unsympathetic additions. In cases of subsequent additions or alterations, NCO housing still may have integrity if it retains its setting, overall design, the greater part of its materials, and the majority of its architectural features.

Fort Clark’s wartime family housing area for married Warrant Officers, NCOs, and government civilians, after over eighty years, has lost the majority of its architectural integrity with only one or two units retaining the building’s original features. This should not however diminish the historical significance of this unique one of a kind area. At least one of the units could be considered for designation as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and the entire housing area recognized with a subject marker so its original purpose can be understood and appreciated by future generations.

Monographs of Kinney County’s Architectural Heritage is written by Bill Haenn, FCHC Senior Historian. Fort Clark Heritage Council is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, established in 2023, to advocate for the preservation and protection of the architecture and other historic resources in the Fort Clark National Register Historic District for the benefit  of the visiting public and future generations, providing for the advancement and strengthening of heritage tourism initiatives by growing recognition of and visitation to the Fort Clark Historic District and being committed to endorsing and promulgating the rich history of Fort Clark by expanding upon related educational and research efforts. Find this article and more online at  KinneyCountyPost.com