Old Fort Mason stood near a spring long used by Indians and was built of stone quarried from Post Hill. The fort helped protect the Texas frontier from Indians. Colonel Robert E. Lee was stationed in Texas for 2 years and commanded Fort Mason from Feb. 1860 to Feb. 1861. There he made his decision about his part in the Civil War, saying, “If the Union is dissolved, ... I shall return to my native state and ... save in defense ... draw my sword on none”. He left Fort Mason Feb. 13, 1861. In wartime he remembered, “The enemy never sees the back of Texans”.