![]() | Fort LeatonBrochure |
Interpretive Guide of Fort Leaton State Historic Site (SHS) in Texas. Published by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
featured in
![]() | Texas Pocket Maps | ![]() |
covered parks
source
Folklorico dancers at Fort Leaton.
INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
LARGEST AND FINEST HISTORIC
Fort Leaton State Historic Site is day-use only and offers picnicking areas, a nature trail, guided tours, plus exhibits on the
area’s history from late prehistoric times through the present.
The site also hosts several special events throughout the year
and serves as the venue for many community activities.
ADOBE STRUCTURES IN TEXAS!
FURTHER READING
FORT LEATON STATE HISTORIC
The River Has Never Divided Us by Jefferson Morgenthaler.
WELCOME TO ONE OF THE
SITE PROVIDES A GLIMPSE OF
Rio Grande by Jan Reid.
LIFE AT A FORTIFIED TRADING
Marfa
POST ON THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
67
BEGINNING IN THE TURBULENT
Presidio
MID-1800s. THE SITE CONVEYS
A LARGER STORY AS WELL—
THAT OF THE VIRTUAL PARADE
OF PEOPLE AND CULTURES THAT
HAVE LONG INHABITED THE
REGION KNOWN AS LA JUNTA DE
Alpine
Marathon
90
118
385
Fort Leaton
170 Terlingua
State Historic Site
MEXICO
MEXICO
For more information, visit or contact:
Fort Leaton State Historic Site
Four miles east of Presidio on FM 170
P.O. Box 2439, Presidio, Texas 79845
(432) 229-3613
www.tpwd.texas.gov/fortleaton
LOS RIOS. OH, THE TALES THIS
SITE COULD TELL …
© 2019 TPWD. PWD BR P4501-091C (7/19)
In accordance with Texas State Depository Law, this publication is available at
the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.
TPWD receives funds from the USFWS. TPWD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, and gender,
pursuant to state and federal law. To request an accommodation or obtain information in an alternative format, please contact TPWD on a Text Telephone
(TTY) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989 or by email at accessibility@tpwd.texas.gov. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact TPWD, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and
Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.
Texas State Parks is a division of the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
FORT
LEATON
STATE HISTORIC SITE
F O R T
L E A T O N
S T A T E
H I S T O R I C
S I T E
LA JUNTA DE LOS RIOS
THE EARLY DAYS
The story of Fort Leaton begins in Chihuahua City,
Mexico. There, Juana Pedrasa met Ben Leaton sometime
between 1833 and 1840. In 1848 the couple and their
three children moved to the La Junta District on the
Rio Grande, where Pedrasa owned land. They purchased
additional acreage and fortified existing adobe structures
into the square-shaped compound known today as
Fort Leaton, which served as a home, trading post on the
Chihuahua Trail, and private fortification. The Leaton
family and their visitors—explorers, soldiers, traders,
freighters, native Americans and Anglo settlers alike—
sought protection here against Native American raids
and attacks by borderland outlaws.
A handful of journal entries provide a glimpse of life at
Fort Leaton in its early days. In 1848, 70 men led
by John Coffee Hays traveled from San Antonio to the
Big Bend area on a mapping expedition. Today that trip
would take about seven hours, but in 1848 it took two
months! Imagine how welcome the relative safety and
comfort of Fort Leaton must have seemed after such
an arduous journey. The expedition purchased horses,
mules and other supplies at the fort.
T
he same qualities that drew Ben Leaton and
Juana Pedrasa to the area have attracted countless others over the centuries. The region known
as La Junta de los Rios, named for the nearby confluence
of the Rio Conchos and Rio Grande, contributes two
all-important resources: water and fertile floodplain soils.
Carretas were used to move freight on the Chihuahua Trail.
The following year, Lt. William H.C. Whiting and party arrived
at Fort Leaton while exploring a military route between
San Antonio and Santa Fe. By this time Leaton owned two
slaves, employed eight to 10 workers and maintained extensive
farming operations. Whiting referred to the fort as “one of the
most important places on the Rio Grande” due to its position as
the lone defensive outpost and supply station along a 450-mile
stretch of river. He also commented on the exorbitant prices
being charged. Although Leaton was widely known as a
scoundrel, Whiting praised his hospitality. Leaton treated the
party to an enormous meal including stewed chicken with
chilies, roasted turkey, tortillas, frijoles, coffee and homemade
peach brandy.
As long as 800 years ago, Native American farmers
raising corn, beans and squash lived here in permanent
villages while conducting extensive trade. Over time
La Junta witnessed a flow of diverse cultures and
individuals from all walks of life as the region passed
through governance by four countries: Spain, Mexico,
the Republic of Texas and, finally, the United States.
Due to its rich history and relative isolation, the region
continues to maintain a unique cultural identity today.
MURDER AND MAYHEM
© Archives of the Big Bend, Sul Ross State University
Although Fort Leaton was not a military fort, the U.S. Army
maintained an intermittent presence. As shown here,
members of the U.S. Cavalry visited the site in 1916.
The story of Fort Leaton soon took a series of violent turns.
Following Ben Leaton’s death in 1851, Juana Pedrasa married
Edward Hall and continued the fort’s operation as a trading
post, albeit unsuccessfully. Fort Leaton passed to John Burgess
during foreclosure proceedings in 1862, but the Halls refused
to leave. Ten years later an angry and frustrated Burgess was
indicted for Hall’s murder. Despite a second slaying—this time
of Burgess by a vengeful William Leaton—the family continued
the trading business through 1884. The Burgesses went on to
occupy the deteriorating structure until about 1927. Following Fort Leaton’s acquisition by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department in 1967, restoration work was completed in 1978.
Native Americans overlook La Junta.
Painting by Elsa Socorro Arroyo
Courtesy Rena and Cesar Hernandez