Fort Stanton

Fort Stanton was established on May 4, 1855 to protect Hispanic settlements along the Rio Bonito from Apache raids. Home to Kit Carson, John "Black Jack" Pershing, Billy the Kid, and hundreds of Buffalo Soldiers, the fort remained an active part of the Western frontier until it was decommissioned in 1896. Fort Stanton later became America's first federal tuberculosis hospital and first German internment camp during World War II. The Fort also served as home to Japanese interned during the war, persons with mental and developmental disabilities, and State prisoners recovering from substance abuse.