Remember the episode of Gilmore Girls when Luke was livid at a town hall meeting because the reenactors were going to stand outside in the snow all night reenacting the legendary Stars Hollow Battle? Taylor spearheaded the entire enactment because, well, he’s Taylor and Taylor has a hand in all things Stars Hollow. The reason Luke was irate was because he claimed nothing ever happened that night. The “battle” was actually just some soldiers anticipating a conflict that never actually occurred.
That storyline pretty accurately describes the gist of our visit to Lipantitlan State Historic Site in early September 2018. According to the website, there was a fort in the area once upon a time constructed by Mexican forces in anticipation of conflict with Anglos. A few years later, the Mexican forces surrendered it to Texan forces without even a single shot being fired, which reads like a pretty mild interaction. A handful of years later, some Texas volunteers camped in the area. Fast-forward a few more years and some troops passed through the area.
Really and truly, this seems to be the crux of the situation at LSHS. Something at one point stood somewhere in the vicinity to protect against something they thought would happen. And oh, some people passed through here, too.
I love visiting historic sites. History is my jam. I gotta say, this seems more of an historical marker thing than anything else. There is not a single building. There is one sign (see photo below) & a loop driving around a small grassy area with remnants of something that is not labeled either at the site or online. That’s it.
We’ve been to some small State Parks and Historic Sites, but this one here? This one needs us.
Why We Love Lipantitlan State Historic Site
- History. A “wooden picket fort” stood somewhere around here in the 1800’s. Some troops passed through after it was surrendered without a gunshot. If you’re into research, I recommend volunteering your time and passion in helping the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department turn this into a destination worth the drive.
Must Do’s
- Volunteer. Go to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department website and volunteer to help maintain the place, research it, or brainstorm ideas to help the visiting public know what they are seeing. This site is begging for a Park Interpreter.
We’d love to hear about your experiences at Lipantitlan State Historic Site! Please share your thoughts on this Gilmore Girls-inspired site in the comments.