Historic Structures Report, Architectural Data: HB-21, 1st Sergeant's Quarters and North Squad Room
Gerner FS. 1981. Historic Structures Report, Architectural Data: HB-21, 1st Sergeant's Quarters and North Squad Room. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Denver Service Center, Denver, Colorado
HB-21 was erected at Fort Davis, Texas, during the Indian campaigns and is a superior example of the type of structure used in the Southwest. It was built largely of native materials (adobe, wood, and stone). The walls were constructed of 2-foot-thick adobe, and the roof and protective porches were made of wood. Both the walls and columns were supported on red volcanic tuff stone foundations. This building functioned as quarters for soldiers from 1869 to 1891. It served well as a barracks, especially when modifications were made (wood floors, bathing facilities, stoves, and ventilators). After the army abandoned Fort Davis, it was returned to the civilian owner who then occupied HB-21. The building had lost its kitchen, or mess hall wing, by 1924. The two squad rooms were still intact in 1940. The property was sold to the National Park Service on December 28, 1962, by the heirs of D.A. Simmons. At this time, HB-21 was in an advanced state of deterioration. From 1965 to 1968, it was restored on the exterior with a new roof, chimneys, porches, and adobe wall veneer. The mess hall wing foundations were excavated but not restored. Because of the role this building played in the history of Fort Davis, the 1st sergeant's quarters room and the north squad room are worthy of interior restoration in order to depict the life of the soldier, in particular the black soldier, at home in his barracks.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gerner, Frank
- Date of Issue
- 1981-12
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- FODA , IMR
- Keywords
- adobe, fort, frontier, housing, interior restoration, military, quarters
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 060053: Enlisted Men's Barracks (060053)