New Mexico

Monuments: Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Coronado State Monument, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, El Malpais National Monument, El Morro National Monument, Fort Selden State Monument, Fort Union National Monument, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Jemez State Monument, Lincoln State Monument, Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Petroglyph National Monument, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, White Sands National Monument

Fort Selden Monument

Fort Selden was established in 1865 in an effort to bring peace to the south central region of present day New Mexico. Built on the banks of the Rio Grande, this adobe fort housed units of the U.S. Infantry and Cavalry. Their intent was to protect settlers and travelers in the Mesilla Valley from desperados and Apache Indians. Several of the units stationed at the fort were black troopers, referred to as Buffalo Soldiers. A young Douglas Mac Arthur called the fort home while his father was post commander in the late 1880s.

By 1890 criminals and raiding parties were no longer considered a threat as hostilities eventually lessened and the fort was no longer needed. Like many small forts in the Southwest the government decommissioned the fort and it was abandoned in 1891.

Fort Selden State Monument
Radium Springs, NM
http://www.nmmonuments.org/inst.php?inst=10

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