Calhoun County Commissions Silhouette to Commemorate "The Great Camel Experiment" that began in Texas at Indianola.
Where Hwy 316 starts near the State park at Indianola, a new metal art silhouette now stands to commemorate the beginning of the "Great Camel Experiment". Supported in Congress by Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, the first load of 34 Camels landed at Indianola on May 14, 1856
The camels created quite a stir among the residents at this once prosperous frontier seaport. Several weeks later the camels made a trek on foot to their headquarters at Camp Verde near Kerrville, Texas. More camels arrived later and several expeditions into the desert southwest were made to test their endurance. One major expedition crossed NM and AZ, and arrived at Ft. Tejon, CA in 1857.
The steel silhouette sculpture at Indianola, titled "On a New Shore", by artist Brian Norwood of Jal, NM, was commissioned by the Calhoun County Historical Commission (CCHC) in 2011. "While the "Great Camel Experiment" was considered a success by many directly involved", said Gary Ralston, CCHC member. "the beginning of the Civil War effectively brought an end to that chapter of camel history in Texas. Still, today, from Indianola to Camp Tejon, historical markers and monuments mark the way of this bold experiment across the American west that started at Indianola."
Generously working with the Calhoun County Historical Commission to install this sculpture at Indianola were the Texas Dept. of Transportation, Calhoun County Pct. 1, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and Adventure Machine & Fabrication in Port Lavaca, Texas.
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The Texas Historical Marker nearby states:
No immigrants arriving in Indianola were quite as exotic as the seventy-five camels that came ashore in 1856 and 1857 from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey. As early as 1836, politicians, diplomats and the military were considering the importation of camels for use in North America’s desert wastelands. In 1853, secretary of war Jefferson Davis, a man familiar with harsh desert conditions, proposed to congress the use of camels as pack animals in the desert southwest. Congress approved the request on March 3, 1855.
After a three-month voyage from the Mediterranean, the Fashion entered Matagorda Bay on May 13, 1856 and landed the camels at the wharf at Power Horn. Thirty-four camels, ranging from Bactrians (two-humped variety), Arabians (one-hump variety) and a hybrid-cross between the two, came ashore. Many residents of Indianola recalled the unusual sight of the camels being led through the streets.
By February 1857, a second government shipment of forty-one camels arrived in Indianola. Military camel caravans carrying supplies became more common in the Texas Hill Country between the camels’ home of Camp Verde and San Antonio. The camels, along with traditional livestock, were used in the summer of 1857 to survey the great wagon road between Arizona and California, now known as Route 66. The camels were also used in 1859 and 1860 for reconnaissance in west Texas, surveying routes to the U.S./Mexico border. In 1861, upon the outbreak of the Civil War, all U.S. military assets, including the camels, came into possession of confederate troops and, after the war, the camels were auctioned off.