Fort Concho stood at the center of a line of forts extending from the northeastern border of Texas to El Paso and also formed the northern point of a southern chain of forts extending to the Rio Grande and along that river to its mouth. It was established in 1867 at the junction of the Butterfield Trail, Goodnight Trail, and road to San Antonio by the 4th Cavalry under Capt. George G. Huntt to protect the frontier. By March 1, 1870, its sandstone buildings, in order of construction, were a commissary and quartermaster storehouse, hospital, five officers quarters, a magazine, and two barracks. Among those who commanded the post were Gen. Wm. R. Shafter, later a major general of volunteers in the Spanish-American War who commanded troops at the capture of Santiago de Cuba in July 1898; Maj. John P. Hatch, for whom the fort was at one time named; Gen. Wesley Merritt, later superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point; Gen. Ranald Slidell Mackenzie, who led attacks from this and other forts credited with defeating Indian resistance in the southwest; and Gen. Benjamin H. Grierson, commander of Negro troops of the 10th Cavalry. On June 20, 1889, the fort was abandoned as a military post and the property passed into private ownership.