Fort Apache Historic Park

Fort Apache in 1873

Fort Apache is located in the southern part of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the reservation capital at Whiteriver just east of Arizona State Route 73. The park includes a landscape of 27 historic buildings, ruins and remnants of others, and the fort's former parade ground. The White Mountain Apache Cultural Center (Nohwike’ Bágowa, or House of Our Footprints, in Apache), is located at the western end of the park.[2] The post was situated at the end of a military road built into Apachería. Its purpose was to control the Coyotero Apaches. At first it was a temporary camp called Camp Ord later changed to Camp Mogollon, Camp Thomas and Camp Apache. It became a permanent facility in 1873 and in 1879 the name was changed to Fort Apache.[3][4]

The fort was established in 1870 as a temporary military camp, and was placed on a more permanent footing ten years later. It played a crucial role in the Indian Wars of the late 19th century, serving first as a check on Apache control of the area, and later as a recruitment point for Apaches as scouts in conflicts with other tribes. The fort was one of the places where African-American Buffalo Soldiers were stationed. Only a few buildings survive from the early years of the fort's history, including a log cabin that served as an early commandant's quarters, a guardhouse, and an adjutant's office. Barracks and other quarters built in the 1880s and 1890s also survive.[2]

Its use as a military facility obsolete, the property was in 1923 turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which established the Theodore Roosevelt School on the property. It was established as a boarding school providing educational services to several Native tribes in the region. Although it was located on Apache tribal land, the school was mainly intended to educate Navajo youth, by removing them from their reservation and encouraging the adoption of non-Native customs. This practice of the BIA was widely disliked by the tribes.[2]

During the school's boarding period (a tribal school of the same name continues to operate in some of the buildings) a variety of further buildings were added to the site, including a cafeteria, additional dormitories, and maintenance buildings. A significant number of these buildings still survive, and have been repurposed to other functions by the tribe.[2]

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Forts Fort Apache Fort Huachuca Fort_Lowell Fort McDowell Fort Tyson Fort Whipple
Cemeteries Adamsville A.O.U.W. Cemetery Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery Boothill Cemetery City of Mesa Cemetery Cooks Cedar Glade Cemetery Crosscut Cemetery Double Butte Cemetery Liberty Cemetery Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery Goodyear Farms Historic Cemetery Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery Home Mission Cemetery Historic Pinal Cemetery Pioneer and Military Memorial Park Russian Spiritual Christians Cemetery St. Francis Catholic Cemetery Old Path Cemetery West Resthaven Park Cemetery
Historic districts Catlin Court Historic District Clarkdale Historic District Cottonwood Commercial Historic District Fort Huachuca National Historic District Globe Downtown Historic District Phoenix Historic Property Register Lynx Creek District in Prescott Valley Sunnyslope District in Phoenix

The following are images of some of the historical ruins and remaining structures in Fort Apache.

• The First Commanding Officer's Quarters a.k.a. "General Crook's Cabin" – built in 1871
• The Commanding Officer's Quarters – built in 1892
• The Captain's Quarters (102) – built in 1891
• The Captain's Quarters (103) – built in 1891
• The Officer's Quarters – built in 1883
• The Girl's Dormitory – Native-American girl's dormitory built in 1931 where the Fort's hospital once stood
• The Boy's Dormitory – Native-American boys dormitory built in 1932
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs Club House – built in 1930
• The Theodore Roosevelt School – built in 1923
• The Theodore Roosevelt School Cafeteria – built in 1948
• The Barracks ruins – built in the 1880s
• Fort ruins – c. 1880s

Historic Fort Apache

Commanding Officers' Quarters

• 
  General Crooks Cabin sign
• 
  First Commanding Officer's Quarters (General Crook's Cabin) – 1871
• 
  Commanding Officer's Quarters – 1892
• 
  Captain's Quarters (102) – 1891
• 
  Captain's Quarters (103) – 1891
• 
  Officer's Quarters – 1883
• 
  Girl's Dormitory – 1931
• 
  Boy's Dormitory – 1932
• 
  Bureau of Indian Affairs Club House – 1930
• 
  Different view of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Club House – 1930
• 
  Theodore Roosevelt School – 1923
• 
  Theodore Roosevelt School Cafeteria – 1948
• 
  Barracks ruins – 1875
• 
  Barracks Row ruins – 1875
• 
  Fort ruins – c. 1880s
• 
  Fort ruins – c. 1880s
• 
  Fort ruins – c. 1880s

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Navajo County, Arizona

• Fort Apache Historic Park web site