History In Brief

                A military post from 1858 to 1883, Fort Garland once boasted 22 adobe buildings at a crossroads of trade, transportation, and culture. Fort Garland was named for Brevet Brigadier General John Garland, then in command of the Department of New Mexico. Built on land that

was part of the Sangre de Cristo Grant, leased by the United States government, the fort was established primarily to protect settlers from American Indian resistance.  This fort replaced Fort Massachusetts just six miles to the north, as Fort Massachusetts proved vulnerable to attack and to extreme weather conditions

                From 1866–67, Kit Carson—famous hunter, trapper, and scout—served as the fort’s commandant. The Ninth Cavalry of the Buffalo Soldiers was stationed at Fort Garland between 1876 and 1879 after serving in Texas. In 1876, troops marched to the La Plata region to prevent conflict between Ute people and prospectors. The following year, they helped remove settlers from Ute reservation lands.

                With the coming of the railroad, the forced removal of Ute tribes to reservations in southwestern Colorado and Utah, and with more miners and farmers settling in the area, a frontier post was no longer needed. Soldiers lowered the flag on November 30, 1883, closing Fort Garland for good.

Road to Restoration

                By the mid-1920s most of its buildings were crumbling or gone. The fort was poised to be no more than scrap bricks and wood. In 1920, the owner put the property up for sale. But a group of San Luis Valley citizens recognized the historical significance of the fort, forming the Fort Garland Historical Fair Association and buying the fort from the private owner in 1928. At the time of the association’s acquisition, only five of the original 22 buildings remained. Over the next 13 years, the association held fundraisers to pay for the fort’s minimal upkeep.

                In 1950, a new owner, the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado), opened Fort Garland as a museum with five of its original buildings. Craftspeople restored adobe in the painstaking way that earlier craftspeople had first built it. Today the work of “saving the fort” continues in ongoing archaeology led by a field school at Adams State College in Alamosa.
 

Admission:  Adults: $4, Seniors: $3.50, Children (6–16): $2.50, Children (Under 6) and Colorado Historical Society members: Free.  Group rates available, call for details.  Visit www.coloradohistory.org or call 303/866-3682 for more information.

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History Colorado's mission is to inspire generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in creating a better Colorado. We serve as the state's memory, preserving the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through our museums, educational programs, historic preservation grants, research library, collections, and outreach to Colorado communities. Find History Colorado on all major social media platforms. Visit HistoryColorado.org or call (303) HISTORY for more information.