Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico

Fort Union National Monument is a historic site preserving the second of three forts built on the site, and the ruins of the third. It is located north of Watrous in Mora County, New Mexico.

In the forty years that it served as a frontier post, Fort Union had to defend itself, not only on the battlefield, but in the courtroom as well.

Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fortunion.JPG
Author: Nationalparks


When the fort was first built in 1851, the soldiers were unaware that it was encroaching on private land of Mora Grant. The following year Colonel Edwin V. Sumner further expanded the fort to cover eight square miles, claiming the site as a military reservation. President Andrew Johnson even declared a timber reservation covering the entire range of the Turkey Mountains, a fifty-three-mile area encompassing the fort.

Claimants of the Mora Grant took the US government to court. The case reached the US Congress in the mid-1850s. For two decades the case favored the US Government, until 1876, when the Surveyor-General of New Mexico reported that the fort indeed was located in Mora Grant.

Fort Union, Watrous, New Mexico
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foun_wagon.jpg
Author: NPS-Photo


The army was neither willing to relocate nor to compensate the claimants. The Secretary of War even protested the decision of the General Land Office, arguing that the military had improved the land, and should not be asked to relocate without compensation. The delaying tactic worked, for the army remained at Fort Union until its demise in 1891, without paying anything to the rightful owners. Fort Union National Monument was designated on 28 June, 1954.

Visiting Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico

You can reach Fort Union National Monument by taking Interstate 25 and turning off at Exit 366 (Watrous). Continue another 8 miles north on New Mexico State Route 161 to arrive at the site, at the end of the route. The monument is open daily except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Opening hours are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm in summer and 8:00 am to 4:00 pm in winter. Entrance fee is $3.00 for persons aged 16 and above, valid for 7 days. Fee free days are on National Park Week, First Day of Spring, National Public Lands Day and Veterans Day.

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