Desperate to protect themselves from nearby American Indians, settlers between the Navasota and Trinity rivers built a fort in 1840. It initially bore the name of the Erwin family, but--seeing as the site was so close to Boggy Creek--the fort eventually became known as Fort Boggy. The leader of the Texas Rangers sent to help, Capt. Thomas Greer, was killed on a scouting expedition in 1841. The original families soon left the site; Indian attacks became less frequent, and the fort fell into disrepair.

The fort consisted of two small blockhouses (fortified buildings that usually include ports for firing outwards) and eleven dwellings inside an area just less than one square mile.