Fort Cummings (Luna County, New Mexico)
Luna County · New Mexico · Indian Wars
History & Significance
Founded by Captain Valentine Dresher's Company B, 1st Infantry, California Volunteers, the fort was positioned about 20 miles northeast of modern Deming to protect the strategic water source and vital mail routes. Cooke's Spring was the only large supply of fresh water between Mesilla and the Mimbres River for wagons heading to California on the Southern Emigrant Trail as well as the later Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route.
Between 1848 and 1861 the pass was a dangerous place for travelers who were often ambushed and killed by the Apache; following the Bascom Affair, Apache attacks intensified, and Cooke's Pass acquired the name Massacre Canyon. The fort was built as an adobe walled structure surrounded by a 10-foot-high wall that enclosed a parade ground, corral and several single-story adobe buildings.
Various Army units occupied the fort, including the 125th Infantry Regiment U.S. Colored Troops (August 1866–October 1867), the 38th Infantry Regiment, and the 24th Infantry Regiment. In 1886, one of the first test heliograph messages was relayed from Fort Cummings to Tubac, Arizona, and back over a distance of nearly 300 miles. The fort was permanently closed in 1891.
Key Facts
Map
View larger map ↗ · © OpenStreetMap contributors
🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Eroding adobe walls of 1863 Army post
- Apache Wars history and Victorio's campaign context
- Remote New Mexico high desert landscape
- Protection of Cooke's Pass trail and mail routes
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Cummings
- https://grokipedia.com/page/fort_cummings
- https://ahgp.org/nm/Forts/fort_cummings.html
- https://nmarchives.unm.edu/repositories/18/resources/4260
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-fortcummings/
- https://newmexicohumanities.org/1867-a-snapshot-of-military-occupation-in-new-mexico/
- https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Fort_Cummings