Near Watrous in Mora County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Fort Union: 1866
Fort Union National Monument
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
1. Fort Union: 1866 Marker
You are looking at the largest United States military base to be found for 500 miles in any direction during the late 1800s. There was nothing bigger from Kansas to California. For 25 years, this frontier-era Army post was a federal government-run small town. Hundreds of soldiers and civilians lived and worked here. Every year thousands of travelers and traders passed through Fort Union on the Santa Fe Trail.
Military custom and doctrine fractured this isolated community into three separate and often competing commands. Regular Army infantry and cavalry officers ran the Post. Quartermaster officers commanded inside the Depot. Ordnance officers operated the Arsenal, found about a mile west of the sprawling complex you are about to explore.
Historians call this compound the Third Fort Union. The first fort lasted only 10 years. The second, a rough earthwork, was used only during the emergency of the early Civil War years. The third fort was the largest, and longest lasting Army facility built here.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Industry & Commerce
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Location. 35° 54.336′ N, 105° 0.822′ W. Marker is near Watrous, New Mexico, in Mora County. It can be reached from New Mexico Route 161 7½ miles north of CanAm Highway (Interstate 25). Marker is located along the park trail at Fort Union National Monument, at the south end of the Officers' Row ruins. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3115 New Mexico Route 161, Watrous NM 87753, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northern New Mexico. It is also in the American Southwest, in the Mountain West, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Dust Bowl, and the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Third Fort Union (a few steps from this marker); Rank Has its Privileges (within shouting distance of this marker); Home for the Commandants (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The First Ten Years: 1851-1861 (about 400 feet away); The First Fort Union (about 400 feet away); Ready to Repel the Confederates (about 400 feet away); The Six Mule Army Wagon (about 500 feet away); Life Along Suds Row (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Watrous.
Regarding Fort Union: 1866. National Register of Historic Places #66000044.
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Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
2. Fort Union: 1866 Marker
Also see . . . The Third Fort Union. The Third Fort Union (1862 - 1891) was built in the traditional "territorial" style, and was constructed using native resources such as clay, stone, and lumber. The Post at Fort Union was made to accommodate four companies, both cavalry and infantry; and the Fort Union Quartermaster Depot was equipped to supply all other New Mexico forts. As the central supply hub for all New Mexico posts, the Fort Union depot was larger than the Post, and it employed more men, mostly civilians. Fort Union stayed in operation until the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in 1879 slowly put an end to the Santa Fe Trail. (Submitted on April 28, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 23, 2015
3. Fort Union Officers' Row
Credits. This page was last revised on March 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,109 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 28, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
