Fort Davis is one of the best surviving examples of a frontier post. Built in 1854 to protect the El Paso-San Antonio road from Native American attack, it was abandoned during the Civil War; troops found mainly ruins when they returned in 1867. Rock and adobe were used in reconstructing buildings. Fort Davis' role as a bulwark for mail and wagon-train routes continued until 1891. Today costumed docents staff some of the buildings. Historical exhibits are at the fort museum, in a reconstructed barracks. The fort anchors the community of Fort Davis, home to about 1,200.