Southern Arizona

(Gadsden Purchase)

Last Update: 05/APRIL/2006

Compiled by Phil and Pete Payette - Š2006 American Forts Network

NOTE: This area of the state south of the Gila River is what constituted the majority of the 1853 Gadsden Purchase from Mexico, and also constituted the major part of the short-lived Confederate Territory of Arizona in 1861 - 1862. The Federal Territory of Arizona was not established until 1863.

Camp on the Gila River (2)
(1882), unknown location
A Federal Infantry encampment.

Camp Rio San Francisco
(1863), Clifton
A temporary camp, a subpost of Fort Whipple.

Camp Rigg
(1864 - 1870), near San Jose
Located on the north-side of the Gila River at Aztec Canyon (or Valley).

Camp at Solomonsville
(1867), Solomon
A Federal encampment.

Fort Thomas
(1876 - 1892), Fort Thomas
Originally located at Geronimo, about seven miles above Fort Goodwin (which it replaced), and named New Post on the Gila River. Renamed Camp Thomas (2) in 1876. Moved five miles upriver in 1878 to the present-day location, and redesignated as a fort in 1882. Became a subpost of Fort Grant in 1890. Some of the quarters still remain.

Fort Goodwin
(1864 - 1871), near Geronimo
CA Volunteers who built the fort stayed at Camp Goodwin (1864) 32 miles east (near Safford) while the fort was being constructed. The fort was renamed back to Camp Goodwin in 1866. The post was later used as a subagency of the San Carlos Apache Reservation until about 1883 or 1884. No remains. Camp Smith (1864) was a temporary camp located two and one-half miles north of here.

Camp McCleave
(1864), Graham County
A campsite that lasted three days, located 24 miles south of Fort Goodwin. Ancient cliff dwellings were said to be here.

Camp Overton
(1903), Graham County
A Federal post. Undetermined location.

Fort Grant (2)
(1872 - 1905), Fort Grant
Originally named Camp Grant (2) until 1879. Replaced Camp Grant (1). Abandoned in 1898, it was not regarrisoned and was eventually discontinued in 1905. Transferred to the state in 1912 as a state school for boys. Now a state prison. No remains of the original military post.

Camp Cochise
(1910's), Cochise County
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Don Luis
(1910's), Cochise County
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Rocky Canon Camp
(1857, 1879), unknown location
A Federal encampment site.
(NOTE: "Rocky Canyon" was the only similar reference found on my map - which would place it near Willcox.)

Fort Bowie (National Historic Site)
(1862 - 1894), near Bowie
Protected the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, and a nearby spring. It was garrisoned by California Volunteers in 1862. It served thirty-two years as the center of operations against the Chiricahua Apaches. Now in ruins. From 1867 to 1879 it was officially called Camp Bowie. The post moved to a nearby hill in 1868. Visitors must hike three miles to the site of the original fort, passing the remains of Bowie Station, a stage station that was garrisoned briefly in 1886. There is a visitor center here. Another website from Ghosttowns.com

Camp Crawford
(1886), near Paradise
A temporary Federal encampment.

Fourr's Fort
(unknown), Dragoon
A Butterfield Stage station. Some remains.

Cochise Stronghold
(1860 - 1872), near Sunsites
Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise and his followers took refuge here at a natural granite fortress and kept the Army at bay. Cochise was finally persuaded to surrender.

Camp John A. Rucker
(1878 - 1896), Rucker
Originally located on a creek on the San Bernardino Ranch, named Camp Supply (2) and later Camp Powers, but renamed again in 1879 when it moved to a new site six miles away on the White River. Used intermittently from 1880 to 1890. Became a private ranch. Now part of Coronado National Forest. Several buildings still remain. Sometimes referred to as simply Camp Rucker. The Powers post office was established in 1891, renamed Rucker in 1891.
(thanks to Marshall Sitrin for additional info)

Camp Price
(1881 - 1883), near Chiricahua
A temporary camp east of Camp Rucker in Texas Canyon.

Camp San Bernardino Ranch
(1911 - 1917 ?), near Bernardino
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp San Bernardino Springs
(1883), near Douglas
A temporary camp 18 miles east of town.

Camp Harry J. Jones
(1910 - 1933), Douglas
Originally a border post called Camp Douglas. Renamed in 1915. Became a Regular Army mobilization center during WWI. As many as 15,000 troops were once stationed here.

Camp Bisbee
(1910's), Bisbee
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Newell
(1911 - 1915, 1917 - 1920, 1942 - 1945), Naco
A temporary post used in the Mexican Border Crisis of 1911. Rebuilt as a permanent camp in 1917. Used by the CCC during the 1930's. Several abandoned buildings still remain. Also called Newell Cantonment, and Camp (Cantonment) Naco.

Fort Huachuca (U.S. Military Reservation)
(1877 - 1947, 1954 - present), Fort Huachuca
First known as Camp Huachuca until 1882. Considered to be the home of the Buffalo Soldiers, and was a base for border patrols during the Mexican Crisis of 1911. This post was briefly inactive between World War II and the Korean War, used as a National Guard camp and regional headquarters of the state Fish and Game Commission. Some of the original buildings are still used by the Army. Became headquarters of the Army Communications Command in 1967, and home to the Army Intelligence Center and School in 1971, which was transferred from Fort Holabird, Maryland. There are two museums here: the Fort Huachuca Museum and Annex, and the Army Intelligence Museum.

Camp Wallen
(1866 - 1869), near Fairbank
Originally named New Post on the Upper San Pedro River, or New Post at Babocomari Ranch, and established by CA Volunteers. Renamed in 1868 and manned by Army Regulars. Also known as Fort Wallen.

Quíburi Presidio
(1775 - 1780, 1878), Fairbank
The Spanish had a presence at the Indian village here in 1772 before the adobe fort, Presidio de Santa Cruz de Quíburi, was built. Also called Fort Gaybanoptea. Having transferred from the Presidio de Terrenate in Sonora, the post lasted five years, but they did not finally give up the area until 1789, due to constant troubles with the Apaches. Some ruins remain.
In 1878 a temporary American post was here, near the site of Camp Wallen, called Presidio of San Pedro.
(thanks to Marshall Sitrin for additional info)

Camp Benson
(1910's), Benson
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols in the Chiricahua Mountains.

Camp Cook's Ranch
(1910's), Lowell
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols in Cochise County. Also called Camp Lowell (2).

Camp near Nogales
(1887), Nogales
A temporary camp established after Mexican troops crossed the border and attacked local authorities.

Camp Christianson Ranch
(1910's), near Nogales
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Lochiel
(1910's), near Nogales
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Stephen D. Little
(1910 - 1933), Nogales
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Calabasas (1)
(1837 - 1858, 1862), Calabasas
Originally Mexican Presidio near Calabasas, which protected the Mission San Cayetano de Calabasas. The stone buildings were garrisoned by US Dragoons in 1856 - 1858, who then renamed it. Abandoned after Fort Buchanan was built. Briefly occupied by Confederates in 1862. Located near Rio Rico.

Camp Mason
(1865 - 1866), Calabasas
Located near Rio Rico. Replaced Camp Tubac. Originally called Post at Calabasas (3), renamed Camp McKee briefly in 1866. Also known as Fort Mason. It was manned by California Volunteers. The garrison was transferred back to Camp Tubac in 1866 due to a high rate of illness, and the post itself was then replaced by Camp Cameron. Now a ghost town.

Fort Buchanan
(1856 - 1862), near Patagonia
Originally called Camp near Calabasas (2), and then Camp Moore before given its final name in 1857. This fort, the first built in the Gadsden Purchase, was abandoned and burned in 1861 prior to the Confederates' arrival. The CSA left in 1862 when a Union unit from California approached. The Federals decided not to keep the post, as it was considered unhealthful and poorly sited. Some adobe ruins remain.

Camp Crittenden
(1868 - 1873), near Patagonia
Located on an adjacent hill (private property) to Fort Buchanan, about one-half mile northeast, it was manned by California Volunteers. It was abandoned due to unhealthful conditions. Some ruins remain. Also located here or nearby was a short-lived post, Camp at Patagonia (unknown dates).

Tubac Presidio (State Historic Park)
(1752 - 1776, 1787 - 1848), Tubac
This 50-man Spanish presidio was founded to protect Mission de San Cayetano de Tumacacori (1691, the state's first white settlement) following the 1751 Pima Indian rebellion. The garrison was transferred to Tucson in 1776. Beginning in 1787, an 80-man Pima Indian company reoccupied the presidio. A series of Apache raids and the hard winter of 1848 forced the abandonment of the fort and mission. Remnants of the Presidio de San Ignacio de Tubac can be seen in an underground display. The 1885 Tubac schoolhouse is also part of the museum. Admission fee.

The US Army established Camp Tubac nearby in 1862. Abandoned in 1865 for Fort Mason but reoccupied in 1866. Abandoned again in 1868 for Camp Crittenden.

Camp El Reventon
(1862, 1864), near Tubac
A ranch that was occupied by the Army in 1862 and 1864, seven miles northeast of town.

Camp Arivaca
(1910's), Arivaca
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Arivaca Junction
(1910's), Arivaca Junction
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Cameron
(1866 - 1867), Madera Canyon
A temporary camp at the base of Santa Rita Mountain.

Tucson Presidio
(1776 - 1856), Tucson
The Spanish erected Presidio de San Agustín de Tucson in 1776. Also spelled Tuquisón. The settlement was walled for protection from Apache Indians. It was taken over by the Mexicans in 1821, but briefly occupied by an American Mormon Battalion in 1846. Mexican troops continued to occupy the post until 1856, three years after the Gadsden Purchase, and it was then occupied briefly by US Dragoons before transferring to the Calabasas Presidio.

Fort Lowell
(1860 - 1891), Tucson
Camp Tucson replaced the presidio in 1860. Captured by Confederate Texans in 1862, but recaptured by Californians after a few months and renamed Post of Tucson. Renamed Camp Lowell in 1866. In 1873 the Army decided to move the post seven miles outside of town, south of Rillito Creek, and they called it Fort Lowell in 1879. After the fort closed, Mexican immigrants lived in the abandoned buildings, which they called El Fuerte. The 1873 fort is now Fort Lowell Museum on 2900 North Craycroft Road. The Officers' Quarters has been reconstructed. In town is Armory Park (Plaza Militair) at South Fifth Ave. and East 12th Street, original site of the 1862 post. Admission fee.

Camp Rio San Pedro (2)
(1859), Redington
A temporary camp.

Camp at Robinson's Ranch
(1864), Rillito
A temporary camp for CA Volunteers.

Camp Ray
(1910's), Pinal County
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Camp Grant (1)
(1857 - 1861, 1862, 1865 - 1873), near Dudleyville
Located on the north bank of Aravaipa Creek at the San Pedro River. Originally called Camp on San Pedro River (1). Renamed Fort Aravaipa (or Aravaypa) in 1860, then Fort Breckenridge in 1860. Evacuated and burned in 1861 to keep the post from Confederate hands. Reoccupied in 1862 by the CA Volunteers and renamed Fort Stanford. In 1865 Camp Wright was established on the San Pedro River nearby to the south and soon renamed Camp Grant (1), but because of flooding it was rebuilt at the site of Fort Breckinridge the following year. Although Camp Grant was never officially named a fort, it was frequently called a fort. Abandoned due to a high rate of malaria. Very litle remains at the actual site.

Camp on Rio Gila (1)
(1867), Sacaton
A temporary encampment. Also known as the Gila Depot.

Fort Barrett
(1862), Bapchule
A temporary earthwork fort built by CA Volunteers, protecting Ammi White's flour mill at the Pima Indian villages.

Post at Maricopa Wells
(1865 - 1867), Maricopa
A temporary post in 1865, intermittently used until 1867. Became a stage station in 1868.
(thanks to Marshall Sitrin for additional info)

Camp Lewis (2)
(unknown dates), Childs
A Butterfield Stage Station called Burke's Station was built just north of here in 1858.

Camp Ajo
(1910's), Ajo
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Stanwix Station
(1850's), Maricopa County
A Butterfield Stage Station located 96 miles east of Fort Yuma. It was garrisoned by the CA Volunteers in 1862.

Camp Grassy Camp
(1862), near Agua Caliente
Located six miles west of town on the Gila River, three miles east of Grinnell's Station.

Camp Halleck
(1862), Yuma County
A CA Volunteers camp protecting the Antelope Peak stage station, located south of the Gila River.
(info courtesy of Ted Cook.)

Mission Camp
(1862), Welton
A Butterfield Stage station garrisoned by the Army.

Yuma Depot
(Yuma Crossing State Historic Park)
(1864 - 1885), Yuma
The Yuma Quartermaster Supply Depot served Fort Yuma, which was just across the river in California. (see CALIFORNIA page) Destroyed by fire in 1867, but rebuilt. Several original buildings remain. Admission fee.

Post at Yuma
(1885, 1911 - 1913, 1915 - 1922), Yuma
An intermittently occupied post used for border patrols.

Fort Defiance (1)
(1849), Yuma
A civilian stockaded fort to protect the ferry crossing. Located at the mouth of the Gila River.

Camp Somerton
(1910's), Somerton
Built by the U.S. Army for border patrols.

Northern Arizona - page 1

Special thanks to Ted Cook for providing info on the 1850 - 1900 period forts and camps.