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Fort Stanton Live gives visitors a glimpse into the site's past
Fort Stanton has had many iterations throughout its existence. On Saturday, July 8, the historic site will open to the public for a community event.
From the U.S. military’s encounters with the Mescalero Apache through its time as a tuberculosis hospital, and even to the present day, Fort Stanton has a long history in New Mexico.
On Saturday, July 8, the historic site will be home to Fort Stanton Live. The site will host the annual event for the first time since 2019.
“My staff and I are all excited to experience Fort Stanton Live,” says Kari Richards, manager of Fort Stanton Historic Site. “This will be the first Fort Stanton Live for more than half of the staff, and even veteran staff are excited to experience a new and different version of the event. It’s sure to be a fun event and I can’t wait to experience it firsthand.”
Visitors will be able to see the fields, walkways and buildings of Fort Stanton.
The historic site is situated on 240 acres and surrounded by 25,000 acres of undeveloped Bureau of Land Management land in south central New Mexico.
There are 88 buildings on this historic site — some dating back to 1855, when the fort was built.
The fort features officers’ quarters and barracks, a hospital and morgue, nurses’ quarters, a guardhouse, a dining hall, a chapel, a power plant and laundry, a gymnasium and pool, a fire station, horse stables and a (functioning) U.S. post office. The only renovated building at the fort is now used as the Fort Stanton museum and administrative office.
The Merchant Marine Military Cemetery at Fort Stanton, with rows of white crosses and a monument, is a dramatic site not far from the fort.
“Fort Stanton Live will look a little different this year,” said Steve Duffy, president of Fort Stanton, Inc. “There will be no cannon fire or cap-gun reenactments, but there will be living history — including demonstrations, lectures, live tours and music. There will be much to see, hear and eat at the event, and we hope to still please the many history lovers and visitors visiting our region this July 8.”
Established in 1855 as a military post to control the Mescalero Apache Indians, Fort Stanton may be one of the most intact 19th century military forts in all of America.
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In 1861, Fort Stanton was abandoned to Confederate forces in the early stages of the American Civil War. The fort returned to the Union fold in 1862, under the command of the legendary Christopher (Kit) Carson. The fort was rebuilt after the war.
During the 1880s, Black soldiers from Fort Stanton helped pursue Apache bands led by Victorio and Geronimo.
After closure as an Army post the fort served as a Merchant Marine Tuberculosis Hospital. It has a World War II internee camp, a training school for the mentally disabled, and most recently as a low security women’s prison. It hosted several juvenile, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Richards says visitors can expect a day full of activity, as there will be performances from Indigenous artists and dancers and military bands, plenty of food, guided tours of the site, and lectures from professional and amateur historians, as well as living history cavalry, infantry and artillery non-firing demonstrations.
The lecture subjects include the Arizona and New Mexico railroad system, Fort Stanton’s time as a hospital serving tuberculosis patients, the Fort Stanton cave system, and much more.
