($5.00 Parking Donation Requested)
Events begin at 9:00 A.M.
For more information, visit
www.fortstanton.com or call Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce at 505.257.7395
COME SEE LIVE HISTORY!
It is a day of family fun on the shady grounds of the old Fort.
Surely the day Mother Nature created the spot that became Fort Stanton, she was smiling.
Fort Stanton is surrounded by 26,000 acres of rolling foothills between the towering Sierra Blanca and Capitan Mountains. It is nestled among cotton- woods along the Bonita River in a picturesque setting.
Currently, efforts are underway to revitalize and rebuild Fort Stanton as a major historic site. It is imperative that this priceless part of our Western heritage be saved!
Native Americans have lived in this region for at least 1200 years. It is here where the Mescalero Apaches established their ancestral homeland.
Fort Stanton was named for Captain Stanton who was killed during an Indian raid.
The name ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ originated with the Indians who believed that the hair of the black soldiers resembled the hair of buffalo.
Following the de-commissioning of Fort Stanton, the first Federal hospital used exclusively for the treatment of tuberculosis was established at the fort. From 1899 to 1953, the United States Marine Hospital treated more than 10,000 patients.
Fort Stanton was the first internment camp for Germans during World War II when detained crewmen of a German Luxury liner were interned in 1941.
Fort Stanton is associated with several legendary figures including ‘Blackjack’ Pershing who served two tours of duty at the Fort, in 1887 and 1889. Territorial Governor Lew Wallace is reputed to have written part of his novel ‘Ben Hur,’ at the isolated post. Billy the Kid was incarcerated in the Guardhouse.
Fort Stanton was occupied by Colonel Kit Carson and five companies of New Mexico volunteers.
Fort Stanton was officially transferred to the state of New Mexico in 1953.
Fort Stanton was placed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1969, on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and listed among New Mexico’s most endangered buildings since 1999.
Fort Stanton is a unique, historic treasure containing more original buildings than any other old Western Fort in the United States. It played important, dramatic and some times decisive roles in the Indian Wars, Civil War, Lincoln County War, and in the histories of the ethnic and cultural groups involved- Hispanic and Anglo farmers, ranchers and soldiers, the Black Buffalo Soldiers who served the Fort and the Mescalero Apache Tribe. Preserved, restored and operated as an interpretive historic landmark, Fort Stanton can become the centerpiece of the growing tourist industry in Southeastern New Mexico, as well as an important education and cultural center that can serve all of the people of the area.
Since 2000, Fort Stanton, Inc. has produced an annual program, ‘Ft. Stanton Live’ to show appreciation for the beauty and history of the Fort ‘the way it was.’ Activities include historical presentations, Native American dances, Re-enactments, and lively audience participation.
Staffed by Volunteers of Fort Stanton, Inc. in Partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, Roswell Field Office, The Lincoln County Historical Society, The Mescalero Apache Nation, The Ruidoso Chamber of Commerce and the Capitan Chamber of Commerce.
If you would like to support efforts to restore Fort Stanton, please send your contributions to:
Fort Stanton, Inc.
P.O. Box 1
Fort Stanton, NM 88323
Fort Stanton, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 Corporation. Your contribution is tax deductible in accordance with IRS Regulations.
UNIQUE NEW MEXICO HISTORY
* Fort Stanton was established in 1855. It’s presence allowed settlement of southeastern New Mexico.
* Fort Stanton was briefly occupied by Confederate Forces in 1861.
* Fort Stanton was reoccupied in 1862 by Col. “Kit” Carson with five companies of New Mexico volunteers.
* Fort Stanton was home to Buffalo Soldier Cavalry and Infantry units from 1866 to 1896 - the year it was decommissioned by the U.S. Army.
* Fort Stanton played a major role in the Lincoln County War when the army’s intervention proved decisive in 1878.
* Fort Stanton was home to John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI, when he served two tours of duty in 1887 and 1889.
* Fort Stanton was turned into the first federal hospital exclusively for the treatment of tuberculosis by the U.S. Marine Hospital Service in 1899.
* Fort Stanton treated about 10,000 Marine Seamen for tuberculosis. Over 1500 from eight countries were buried at the cemetery.
* Fort Stanton was the site of a civilian conservation corp camp during the depression.
* For Stanton was the first internment camp of World War II when 410 German Seamen arrived in the Spring of 1941 (before Peal Harbor).
* Fort Stanton was transferred by the Federal Government to the State of New Mexico in 1953. It continued for a time as a tuberculosis hospital operated by the State Department of Public Welfare.
* Fort Stanton was placed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1969, on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and on New Mexico’s most endangered buildings list in 1999.
* Fort Stanton is currently being used by the state corrections department as a residential treatment center.
Located on Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway