Enlisted men, the work force of Fort Stockton, lived in five adobe barracks on this side of the parade ground. The fort had both infantry and cavalry, and during its early years the soldiers patrolled the wild mountains and canyons of the surrounding country searching for bandits and Indians. Daylight often found them on the march or in the saddle, while nights were spent sleeping on the ground. A routine day began with reveille at 6 am, continued with work details and drills, and ended with dress assembly at sunset and lights out at 9:30 pm. When not on duty, soldiers had little to do at this small frontier outpost, which was 370 miles from the nearest important town, Fredericksburg. Except for wood and windows, the buildings were made from local materials: adobe bricks were molded from the soil, limestone was quarried for the foundations, and the roofs originally were thatched with reeds called tules from the nearby creek. Each barracks held about fifty men in a large open room warmed by a central fireplace and lighted by candles, where they slept two to a wooden bunk on straw-filled mattresses. Their furniture consisted of a few crude tables and chairs made by the men, and living conditions were cramped, with only the company sergeant having a private room at one end of the barracks.