In the ruggedly scenic Texas Hill Country, small settlements still bear the imprint of German and French immigrants who traveled thousands of miles to colonize a land said to be a "paradise." Instead, the colonists found themselves on the edge of the western frontier, their small farms and hamlets serving as "buffer zones" against the Indians in much the same way the Spanish Colonial colonies buffered the Mexican border along the Rio Grande. The United States Army built Fort McKavett as part of its effort to protect the immigrant settlements and travelers on the "upper road" from San Antonio to El Paso in the 1850s. The post was reactivated after the Civil War, and became the headquarters of one of the all-black regiments known as "buffalo soldiers" assigned to the protection of western Texas. To begin your tour of the Hill Country frontier, click on the link to Cultural Collisions in the Hill Country. Return to the Frontier Forts main page by clicking on the flag logo.