Fort Stanton, New Mexico
Fort Stanton, New Mexico, named for Captain Henry W. Stanton, who was killed in a skirmish with Apache Indians, was established on May 4, 1855. The fort’s primary objective was to protect the settlements along the Rio Bonito from Mescalero Apache raids. It was also tasked with serving as the Indian Agency for those Apaches that the soldiers rounded up. Initially, the fort consisted of two blockhouses surrounded by an adobe wall.
In 1861, the Union Army abandoned the fort to Confederate soldiers, the retreating troops setting fire to the buildings. However, rain extinguished the fire, and the Confederates took it over. In the meantime, the Mescalero Apache fled the fort and began to raid central New Mexico.
Kit Carson in 1854 by William Ranney
In 1862, Kit Carson and Union troops returned to the fort, using it as a campaign base against the Apache Indians. For the next two years, Carson’s New Mexico Volunteers captured most of the Mescalero Apache and most of the Navajo Indians who were marauding in Arizona and New Mexico.
The soldiers destroyed the Indian’s fields, orchards, houses, and livestock to accomplish their plan. Before the Indians were even defeated, Congress authorized the establishment of Fort Sumner, New Mexico, at Bosque Redondo.
In 1862-63, Carson placed 400 Mescaleros on the newly established Bosque Redondo Reservation, guarded by Fort Sumner. In 1864, troops escorted another 8,000 Navajo to the reservation in what became known as the Long Walk of the Navajo.
However, at the Bosque Redondo Reservation, the Mescalero Apache resented the Navajo and, in 1865, fled back to their homelands in the mountains of Sierra Blanca. By this time, Fort Stanton was occupied by the Buffalo Soldiers, who were sent to round up the Apache once again.
By 1871, the Mescalero Apache were once again “under control” and reestablished on the Fort Stanton Reservation.
Fort Stanton Parade Grounds.
When the infamous Lincoln County War broke out in 1878, the soldiers at Fort Stanton went into Lincoln, New Mexico, to stop the raging gunfights and battles between the two factions. Later, Billy the Kid spent time in the Fort Stanton guardhouse, awaiting a hanging that never happened.
Efforts continued against the Indians as many Apache continued to flee, joining up with Victorio’s and Geronimo’s bands.
The Indian Wars ended by 1890, and by 1893, the Fort’s personnel were reduced to 15 soldiers. In August 1896, the post was officially decommissioned.
But for Fort Stanton, life would go on. Three years after it closed, the U.S. Public Health Service acquired it as a Merchant Marine hospital, exclusively for treating tuberculosis. The name was later changed to Public Health Service Hospital.
During World War II, the Fort became a German internment camp.
In 1953, Fort Stanton and some 27,000 acres were transferred to the State of New Mexico. By 1966, the declining tuberculosis patient load caused the facility to close as a hospital. It then became a Los Lunas Hospital and Training School branch for the mentally disabled, operating under the New Mexico Department of Health. That program ended in 1995.
In 1996, the fort was turned over to the State Corrections Facility, which utilized it to house minimum-security prisoners until 1999.
The fort was then leased to Amity International, which operated a drug rehabilitation center for state prisoners recovering from substance abuse.
Over the years, the original buildings were replaced, remodeled, and expanded as they were used as residences, wards, and offices. The old fort grounds display several buildings, and Legends’ reader Tim Churchman told us that, as of August 2015, about a half dozen are now open to walk through as a self-tour. The tour included a Bunk Room with beds and everyday items a cavalry soldier would have, as well as a Saddle Display. Tim tells us that it looked like they were continuing to improve and add to the facilities.
We checked the Fort Stanton website to see what’s happening. They indicate that the 53 buildings are an ongoing project of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and that the newest historic site in the state now features occasional live recreations and entertainment. It sounds like we need to revisit this great attraction!
Fort Stanton, New Mexico Museum
Fort Stanton is located about five miles Southeast of Capitan, New Mexico. For more information, see Fort Stanton’s official website.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated September 2026.
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