Fort Stanton, New Mexico

1855  In the shadow of Sierra Blanca where the mountain spirits rise live the Mescalero Apache.  Into this valley uninvited came the Hispanic settlers.  Building small villages they called Las Placitas they built torreons, tall round towers they could gather in to fight and hide from the Apache.  Soon Anglos also uninvited began coming with their cattle to the good grazing and abundant water of the Rio Bonita Valley. Behind them came the miners looking for the yellow metal.  Apache raids became more aggressive and plans were made to build a fort.  The fort would be built on the order of the western forts without a stockade and around a quadrangle.  Nestled in the foothills of the Sacramentos, the Rio Bonita River provided water for the fort and the horses accompanying it while the area had accessible roads, abundant grazing for the animals, wood and building timber.  Forts of this type became small communities and provided more than just protection to the surrounding villages and ranches.  They provided markets for farm produce, crops, and cattle.  They provided medical facilities, jails and much of the social life of the area. Fort Stanton was established on March 19, 1855 by Col. John Garland, 8th U.S. Infantry.  It was named after Capt. Henry W. Stanton, 1st U.S. Dragoons who lost his life near the post in a battle against the Apache.

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1861 On August 2, 186l after learning of the fall of Fort Fillmore and the surrender of Major Isaac Lynde, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin S. Roberts ordered the abandonment of Fort Stanton.  Officers all over New Mexico were resigning posts in order to serve with the Confederacy.  Roberts set fire to the fort and ordered that all supplies that could not be moved destroyed.  A strong summer rainstorm put out the fires and the Confederates marched into a fort with a good share of its commissary and quartermaster stores intact.  They also recovered a working battery.  The Confederates brought a train from Fort Bliss to carry off supplies.  During the months of August and September, 1861, the Confederacy maintained Fort Stanton.  In early September Apache raids began again and after losing three out of four men detailed to watch the roads the Confederates abandoned the fort and returned to the Mesilla Valley.

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1862 Following the abandonment of Fort Stanton by the Confederacy it was again reclaimed by the Union. Under the legendary Gen. Kit Carson, five companies of New Mexico volunteers took possession of the fort. Gen. Carson was well known to New Mexicans as a mountain man, guide and Indian Agent. While he found Ft. Stanton in a state of near collapse with only the stone walls still standing, he did a quick fix and again

1865 The Mescelaro Apache fed up with broken promises, a lack of understanding and Indian Agents who were bent on profit instead of care left the reservation and once again Fort Stanton was on the alert. In October, 1865 Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Emil Fritz, Company B, First Cavalry, California Volunteers took over as post commandant. He served until March, 1866 when he turned over command to Brevet Major Lawrence G. Murphy, Company C, First New Mexico Calvary. After mustering out in the fall of 1866 Fritz and Murphy formed a partnership and became post sutlers.

1869 In 1869 Lincoln County was formed with Las Placitas becoming the county seat. It was because of this Las Placitas changed its name to Lincoln to honor the late President.  J.J. Dolan was mustered out of the army at Ft. Stanton and went to work for L.G. Murphy.  Rebuilding work at Fort Stanton was suspended with only the guardhouse being completed.  September the 6th saw the first full election in Lincoln County. William Brady a past commander at Fort Stanton and a good friend of L. G. Murphy's was elected sheriff. In November the Apache again began raiding running off 115 head of cattle from the ranch of Robert Casey. Lts. Cushing and Yeager leave the fort with 32 Buffalo Soldiers and attack an Indian "rancheria" in the Guadalupe Mountains recovering most of Casey's stock. In December Cushing and Yeager again lead a force of 35 buffalo soldiers and 28 civilians against the Apache in the Guadalupe Mountains. Yeager is wounded.

1878 During the infamous siege at the McSween House when the Regulators and the Dolan (old Murphy faction) came head to head, the tide of battle was said to have been turned with the entrance of Col. Nathan A. Dudley, a column of troops, a gattling gun and a mountain howitzer. The army at Fort Stanton had orders not to interfere in civilian matters but Dudley took it upon himself to override the order for the safety of the women and children in Lincoln. In effect he was the posse commitas for Sheriff Peppin and the Dolan faction, many of whom had served at Fort Stanton earlier in their careers. Although Dudley said he was there for the protection of women and children he refused protection to Susan McSween, Elizabeth Shields and her children since they chose to stay in the house with Alexander McSween, Susan's husband and the regulators. Warrants were out for the arrest of McSween and some of the regulators, one of which was William Bonney, alias Billy the Kid. In effect, the regulators held warrants for the arrest of members of the Dolan faction. Susan McSween saw her husband killed and her home burned to the ground while the military looked on. She would later file charges against Col. Dudley that resulted in a court martial hearing. Dudley was found not guilty of any charges including arson but remained a controversial character in Lincoln County history.

1880's Buffalo soldiers from Fort Stanton were again called upon to stand duty in the continued Apache raiding. Literally running the Apache to ground they were successful in bringing in the remains of Victorio's band and Geronimo's. Governor Lew Wallace visited at Fort Stanton to take advantage of the peace of the valley while writing his epic Ben Hur. Billy the Kid was brought to the fort to await his hanging but using a trick he had applied before, he escaped by climbing the chimney.

1887 August of 1887 John J. Pershing arrived at Fort Stanton to begin his first of two tours of duty. Pershing was so impressed with the performance of the Buffalo Soldiers he earned himself the nickname of "Black Jack." While he was at Fort Stanton he had the distinction of participating in a new War Department program called "War Games." Pershing's troops were the "pursurers". Black Jack Pershing would go on to distinguish himself as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force in WWI.

1896 With the ending of the Indian Wars, Fort Stanton was no longer a major player on the frontier. By 1893 the occupancy of the fort was down to fifteen. In August 1896 the fort was officially decommissioned.

1899 On April 27, 1899, Fort Stanton entered a new phrase of operation. Taken over by the United States Public Health Office, it became a hospital for tubercular patients. It was a made to order sanatorium with a constant water supply, peaceful environment and temperate climate. Dr. Francis Creeson, medical officer in command at Fort Stanton in 1900, stated it thus: "This vast and salubrious stretch of country, which is sometimes sneeringly alluded to as "a land of sand, sagebrush and cacti," possesses in an almost illimitable degree those very elements which observation and experience have proven to be of the utmost value in the treatment of tuberculosis." (Gomey 1969: 56-58) In April 1899 when Fort Stanton was transferred to the Public Health Service, it had a total of 38 buildings. These were in various states of repair. It took approximately six months to get the fort hospital ready.

1900-01 With the patient load increasing every advantage was taken to make the fort a self-sufficient operation. During this time an ice and cold storage plant were installed. This was followed by a laundry, patient wards and electric power plant and new office buildings. The establishment of a dairy farm, truck farm and the addition of poultry made the fort not only self-sustaining but allowed therapy for some of the patients. The regimen for tubercular patients was very specific: fresh air, good diet, and rest. A set of rules was given to each patient and he could only be considered for a "tent house" after he had passed a test on the rules. "Tent houses" were a coveted privilege over living in the wards. Given the nature of sailors, the rules also warned against liquor, cigarettes, and card games. A patient could be dismissed for use of alcohol and card playing was not permitted if a patient was running a fever. Because of the number of patients and the need to feed them Fort Stanton still played a major role in the economy of Lincoln County. Working at the hospital was considered a "plum" job. Room and board was furnished. Pay was a dollar a day but you had commissary privileges, free wood and electricity and two Sundays off a month. Fort Stanton also continued to play its part in the social life of Lincoln County. Patients held, paid for and sometimes participated in an annual rodeo. As the fort had a theater it provided entertainment for patients and staff.

1939 Captain Wilhelm Daehne the commander of the German luxury liner, the Columbus, scuttled her off the coast of Cuba rather than have her captured by British warships. Captain Daehne after investigating a number of different sites settled on Fort Stanton as an internment site. As we were not at war with Germany at the time the sailors were considered "distressed seaman." In the spring of 1941 Captain Daehne and 410 German sailors occupied a former CCC Camp across from Ft. Stanton. They promptly began to convert it into a quality resort for POW's. They furnished themselves with a recreation hall complete with a basketball court, reading room, and a music room where they listened to the ship's orchestra. They also built a swimming pool. When the United States went to war with Germany a barbed wire fence was added. The Germans established their own gardens growing corn, beans, squash, cabbage, potatoes and other vegetables which they stored, dried, or froze for later use. In 1942 a small contingent of Japanese farmers from California and interned in a separate camp. German workers were taken by truck to the gardens each morning and occasion prisoners escaped. The Border Patrol employed expert Apache trackers to search out these escapees. If was accepted that the Germans had seen a number of wild west movies, upon capture they pleaded not to be scalped.

1953 Marine hospital supervision was suspended with the availability of drugs to treat tuberculosis. The hospital was transferred to the state of New Mexico for a treatment facility. The curiosity of this transfer came with the first patients. Many were Navajos, one of the tribes the fort had originally been designed to subdue. The hospital maintained a patient load of 200 to 300 for the next ten years. This necessitated the building of a new bed wing and the establishment of occupational and rehabilitation programs. A school was added for child patients.

1966 Following a tubercular patient decline, Fort Stanton again underwent change. This time it became a branch of the Los Lunas Hospital and Training school for the mentally handicapped. 

1996 When Los Lunas no longer found it feasible to operate a facility the state turned the fort over to the State Corrections Facility.  It was used to house minimum security prisoners until 1999. At this time part of the fort was leased to Amity, Intl. who currently operates a rehab center on the premises.

2005 It's up to us! In summing up the role that Fort Stanton has played in area history, hospital chronicler Carole Gomey states, "Fort Stanton...has remained in constant operation despite various changes in utilization. Unlike many other military posts which outlived their usefulness after hostilities with the Indians ceased, Fort Stanton survived to provide employment and service to the local community and the State of New Mexico. It has retained this characteristic throughout it unique history. Its roots have grown deep in New Mexico and Lincoln County, and from them have sprung a whole way of life." (Gomey 1969: 92)