AG Sues to Preserve Galveston's Fort Crockett

​Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed a suit on behalf of Texas's state historical officer, asking a judge to order the owners of Fort Crockett to fix the buildings and not demolish them.

The state is asking for a temporary restraining order against Max Bowen Enterprises and Juan Hijo Investments, who own the property with the old-for-Texas barracks.

The suit, first reported in the Galveston County Daily News, says the officer quarters that remain standing are "a significant reminder of the fort's mission through World War II and provide passers-by with a sense of the overall post's size and its role in the history of Galveston."

The fort was opened in 1903 and is indeed named for Davy Crockett. It housed an air unit, trained crews on shore batteries that can still be seen, served as a POW camp in WWII and was later deeded over to the Coast Guard.

The state claims the current owners are allowing the buildings to deteriorate and that they have not filed a mandatory preservation plan.

"Despite years of neglect, they retain a good deal of integrity," the suit says, "creating a cohesive residential setting and a distinguishable example of coastal military housing."

For our part, we want the fort restored to all its former glory, as shown in this Seawall Boulevard picture from Galveston's Rosenberg Library:

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