Suller's
Slore
l- So ly Porl
2- Wogon lvlosJer
3- Employees 0uorlers
4- Slore Room
5 - Q . l V .S e r g e o n l
6 - S o d d l eR c o m
7- Eocon House
B - S i n k s( p r i v i e s )
t
Ft. Seldenwasabandonedin May 1879
in December1880.It
but was reoccupied
was garrisoneduntil 1887during the last
Apacheuprisingled by Geronimo,Nana,
and Victorio. The final order for abandonmentwas given in 1892,and the administrationof the land passedunder the
control of the Departmentof the Interior.
In recentyears,a visitor's centerhasbeen
built at thesite.
LeasburgStatePark
LeasburgStatePark includes23 camping and picnic siteswith shelters,tables,
Conmond\rgY2
and grills. An extensive"pioneer fort"
f;l';;,";'.',LJ
playground
hasbeenconstructedof matel';;'!;;;-]
rialsresemblingweatheredadobe.
it_l_":":_i
The old Ft. Seldencemeteryis located
nearthe southentranceof LeasburgState
Park. About 82 interments were made
from 1865to 1883.The remainsof 8l
;
(51 unidentified) have since
decedents
a
Covolry
in the Fort Leavenworth
reinterred
been
Corrol
National Cemeteryin Kansas.One decedent was removedto the MasonicCemetery at SantaFe, New Mexico, and later
reinterred in the Santa Fe National
Cemetery.
LeasburgDiversionDam, locatedin the
northern portion of the park, was constructedin 1908.The dam diverts water
from the Rio Grande into the Leasburg
Canal which suppliesirrigation water to
*
4
-@
the vast cotton, lettuce,and onion farmF e d e r o li * - " s . . o n o o t ,
ing areaof the Upper MesillaValley.VisGrouNo pl-ex op Fr. Srlonr.t
ible in the cliffs at the eastend of the dam
is the solid bedrock of intrusiverhyolite
upon which the dam is built. This rock
The soldiers'quartersat the south end A roadway paralleling the east side of formation also provided a convenient
of the parade ground consistedof two these buildings separated them from river crossingon the Butterfield Trail to
large dormitory units having separate anotherrow of buildingshousinga bacon California.
mess facilities. Behind each unit was a house,saddlerooms, wagonmaster' emAccessto the area of LeasburgState
yard enclosedalong the south by a high ployees'quartersand quartermasterserwestof the Rio Grandeis throughan
Park
geant. The walled areas to the east of
wall.
located1 mi north of Ft. Selden
entrance
Located along the west side of the thesebuildingswerethe cavalryand quar- on US-85.LeasburgDam itself can be apparade ground was a hospital including termastercorrals.
proachedby the pavedroad whichfollows
The commanding officer's quarters
rooms for surgery, quarters for the
the westsideof the LeasburgCanalnorthsteward,kitchenand mess,storage,and a werelocatedto the westand slightlysouth ward from the US-85-FAS-1171interof the officers' quarters.GeneralDouglas
ward accommodatingl2 Patients.
MacArthur probablylived hereas a small section.
threeOfficers' quarters consistedof
A half mile northwestof the dam, and
room units, two duplex buildings, and child when his father, Captain Arthur outside the park boundary, is Radium
post from
onesingleapartment,alongthe north side MacArthur. commandedthe
Springs.Here, naturallyoccurringhighly
1886.
late
1884
until
of the paradeground.Eachunit had a pri- the springof
mineralizedsprings are used for theraThe post bakery was locatedsomedisvatewalledsideyard. A largeareabehind
peuticbathsat a local hotel' The water is
the officers' quarterswasalsoenclosedby tanceto the westof the soldiers'quarters. stightly radioactive,and has a temperaA privatehome now occupiesthe site of
a wall.
ture that varies from l40o to 2WoF.
The buildings on the east side of the the Sutler's (trader's)Store north of the Deep-seated
igneousrock bodiesare the
parade ground were for quartermaster officers'quarters.
of the heat as well as
probable
source
granary,carpenter' The post was supplied from quarterstorage,commissary,
solids.The variable
the
dissolved
of
iome
Ft.
blacksmith, butcher, and saddler' The master and subsistencedepots at
however, indispringn
the
dischargeof
center of this buitding had the only Union. New Mexico, a distanceof some cates that most of the water probably
second-storylevel in the fort, and was 340 mi. Wagonswere useduntil railroad comesfrom an underflow from the Rio
constructedof stone.The lower levelwas constructionreachedthe post in 1881. Grande.
!
for guard and prisonrooms,separatedby Grain, hay, and wood were Purchased
-RobertA. Bieberman
(1972l
a sallyport. The secondstory consistedof locally. Water was obtainedfrom the Rio
NMBM&MR
Geologist,
Petroleum
Senior
a room for the adjutant and a courtroom. Grande.
Officers'Quorlers
il
I
August 1979
New Mexico GeologY