Camp Stockton Sutler's Store ("Oldest House")

Jun 5

The adobe ruins of what has long been identified as the oldest house in Fort Stockton likely date back to the founding of Camp Stockton in 1858. The building originally served as a sutler's store and later as a family home for the Sosa, Piña, and Ramos families after the camp was abandoned during the Civil War. When the building was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1966, the large structure was mostly intact. The walls, two feet thick, were constructed of adobe brick, rested on a native stone foundation, and had a thatched roof supported by stripped sotol branches. Over time, the adobe walls have eroded and collapsed, and damage from a 1995 earthquake caused the roof to collapse, leaving only a small portion of the original walls standing.

Owned by the Fort Stockton Historical Society, the organization has partnered with Texas Tech University to undertake archaeological investigations to help confirm the building's date of construction. In October 2023, samples from wooden beams were sent to Arizona for dendrochronology analysis. The Society's goal is to restore and reconstruct the building for public interpretation of the early origins of Fort Stockton.