By J. Young

Just up the Bonito River from Lincoln at an elevation of 6200 feet are the splendid remains of an exhausted old haunting known as Fort Stanton. A long time ago, just before wagon roads and blazed trails abraded New Mexico, the land was spread out and untamed. It was loaded with deadly vermin, bears, mountain lions and snakes. The land belonged to Northern Mexico just 7 years prior, and in the early 1850s The U.S. built many Forts and bases in the new territory to survey, map and develop it.

One of the Forts was Fort Stanton. On May 4, 1853 a new fort was established. It was named Fort Stanton, after Captain Henry Stanton, who was previously killed in the area by a local tribe known as the Mescalero Apache. The location of Fort Stanton was so remote that it was 150 miles from any town. During that summer of 1855, hundreds of soldiers began construction of Fort Stanton. Upon arrival, they were well supplied to build, but only had 3 months of rations. They quickly blazed some trails and soon wagons were able to roll in and out of the area. The caves at Fort Stanton were discovered and first explored by the first dragoons stationed at Fort Stanton In 1855. They were likely equipped with .44 caliber pistols, heavy whale oil lamps, ropes and canteens.

Word began to spread about a beautiful land protected by the army and soon many settlers came.

At first Fort Stanton only had two big houses surrounded by a large Adobe wall and in 1861 the Civil War broke out and the Army at Fort Stanton left fleeing from the Confederate soldiers moving in. They tried to burn their Fort before they fled but a quick rain extinguished the fire. The Confederates then occupied Fort Stanton for about a month until The Apache ran them out.

In 1862 Kit Carson with Union troops retook Fort Stanton. Carson was fond of an officer at Stanton. His name was LG Murphy. Murphy was praised in more than one report to headquarters from Kit Carson.

After Congress passed the Army Organization Act in 1866, six all black cavalry and infantry regiments were created, and many were stationed at Fort Stanton. Buffalo Soldiers was a name given to the Black Cavalry by the Native American tribes.
On April 11th 1866 Lawrence G. Murphy became the commanding officer at Fort Stanton as well as commander of company G, first New Mexico cavalry. In 1867 he was also promoted to Major.
After LG Murphy’s service was up in the Army, he obtained a federal license in order to operate a business on Federal property. The firm known as Murphy and Fritz company operated out of a large Adobe structure flat roofed and rectangular. It was 186 ft long and 81 ft wide, built around an enclosed central courtyard that was only accessible through two gates. In its interior it consisted of private rooms, a billiard room, dining room, a large beer room, an office and much more
In the 1880’s, The Buffalo soldiers from Stanton were sent on a mission to help pursue Geronimo and his Apache bands. Many of the Apache riding with Geronimo were the Mescalero Apache who had left the Fort Stanton reservation.

By 1890 the Indian wars were over and Fort Stanton was reduced to about 15 soldiers. In 1896 the post was officially decommissioned.

Three years after Stanton was closed, in 1899 the US public health service acquired it for use as a merchant Marine hospital exclusively for the treatment of tuberculosis on the orders of President McKinley. At the time, fresh air and sunshine were the only known cures for tuberculosis, and New Mexico altitude and weather was believed to be the cure. Hundreds of tent homes were set up and Fort Stanton’s name was changed to the Public Health Service Hospital. Many new buildings were constructed including a hospital, stables and living quarters for the families. Also a large farm was added nearby with the patients working the fields, as well as a golf course, baseball fields and a theater. After the tuberculosis pandemic came to an end, Fort Stanton was no longer needed as a sanatorium.

The nearby cemetery on a hill overlooking the Fort is mesmerizing with hundreds of white crosses. The cemetery grew to include veterans of other services as well as the Merchant Marines, and other TB patients.

In 1939 World War 2 erupted involving several countries. About 400 miles off the East coast of the U.S., the SS Columbus, a luxury liner, was sunk in December 1939. The German crew aboard were captured by U.S. forces and moved to Angel Island California. Then they were moved inland to Fort Stanton, New Mexico. Fort Stanton was picked because there were abandoned buildings from the civilian conservation groups adjacent to the Fort which could be used as well as the hospital. The location also ensured isolation. The guards chosen were members of the United States border patrol. The first POWS were tasked with constructing buildings, such as four barracks, a kitchen, a mess hall, laundry room, restrooms and washrooms, officers quarters and a medical dispensary. Also added were a garden, a recreation hall and swimming pool. In the beginning the camp resembled more of a town than it did a prison and the first the Germans were treated as trustees, they were able to roam the old Fort freely and even take short hikes. It changed overnight when Japan attacked America at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The POWS at Fort Stanton were then on lockdown and guard towers and barbed wire fencing were put up.

A few prisoners made a plan to escape. In the darkness of night on November 1st 1942 four German pows; Bruno Dathe, Willy Michel, Hermann Runner and Johannes Grantz snuck out the South border of Fort Stanton, undetected. Later the next day it was discovered they were absent and a large manhunt was conducted by the police in New Mexico and Texas. A rancher named Bob Boyce spotted the escapees about 2 days later and notified Deputy Joe Nelson. A posse of men then trailed the Germans 14 miles south of the camp on a hillside in the Lincoln national Forest. They were caught off guard while on a grassy Hill near a stream. One of the prisoners was armed with an automatic pistol and after a quick shootout, one of the Germans was wounded. They surrendered and were taken back to Fort Stanton. The event made the papers.

From the 1960s until 1995 Fort Stanton was used as a state hospital for the developmentally handicapped. For a short time after that it was used as a low security women’s prison and also housed many drug and alcohol rehabilitators. In 1997 a nonprofit corporation was created to save the national monument as a historical site. On August 9th 2007, lieutenant governor Diane Denish and Governor Bill Richards proclaimed the establishment of Fort Stanton a historical site. Fort Stanton is now managed by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and Bureau of Land Management.

In 2001 it was re-discovered by members of the Fort Stanton cave study project that Snowy River Cave has more than 40 miles of caves underneath Fort Stanton.

Do you believe in ghosts? There’s been rumors about the old army Fort being haunted. Some reports say you get a “creepy” feeling when you’re walking alone on the grounds, especially at night. Employees that have worked at Fort Stanton have noted some of the occurrences. Some report seeing shadowy figures and others hearing crying. Another report says a janitor quit after his first day on the job after he believed he saw what he describes as El Diablo.

If you are visiting the old Fort, or its surroundings, bring a camera! There is plenty of preserved history to capture, as well as more than 100 miles of trails for biking, hiking and horseback riding with a camping area. Don’t forget to hit the visitors center!