Dueling at the Fanthorp Inn

ANDERSON – Bring your second and mark your paces for live dueling demonstrations at the Fanthorp Inn on Saturday, and Sunday, Sept. 11 and 12, from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. This is all part of the Fanthorp Focus Weekend, “The General at Ease” which will highlight the special friendship between Henry Fanthorp and Sam Houston.

“We are proud to partner with the Sam Houston Memorial Museum for this unique event which I think will really showcase to the community how fun and exciting history can be,” said Jon Failor, Site Manager Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Complex.

Interpreters dressed in authentic 1850s attire will guide visitors through the warm relationship General Houston had with the Fanthorp Inn. Visitors will have a chance to see Houston’s own dueling pistols on display. Also, for the first time in over a decade, the Houston cane and pocket watch (which he gave to Henry Fanthorp) will return to the inn and be on display for this event only.

On Saturday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. the grounds of the inn will be transformed into a field of honor as interpreters engage in the procedures and etiquette that accompanied a gentlemanly duel just as it would have happened in the early days of the Republic of Texas.

Admission is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated. Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site, a Texas Historical Commission property, is a stagecoach stop and inn located on Main Street in Anderson, Texas. Henry Fanthorp had the inn constructed in 1834 as a home for his wife Rachel Kennard. Notable guests include Henderson K Yoakum, Kenneth Anderson, Dr. Anson Jones, and Sam Houston. Step into the inn’s past and gain a true sense of travelers’ experiences in Texas in the 1850s. For more information visit www.visitfanthorpinn.com.