The new fire-resistant synthetic roof is installed at the Visitor Center at Fort Stanton Historic Site in 2024. Courtesy photo
NMDCA News:
FORT STANTON — The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is overseeing the largest investment in capital infrastructure improvement projects at Fort Stanton Historic Site since the 1930s New Deal era under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
More than $7.5 million has been invested since July 2020, paid for through the American Rescue Plan Act and the New Mexico State Legislature infrastructure improvement funds. A $250,000 federal grant sponsored by Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan is supporting additional wildfire mitigation throughout the site.
In-progress and completed projects include extensive rehabilitation of the Nurses Quarters, Laundress Quarters, Hospital, and seven other buildings, a new roof on the Visitors Center, fire mitigation for the site, and upgrades to the drinking water and wastewater systems.
The Nurses Quarters, constructed in 1941 as the first federal building erected in the Santa Fe style, is one of New Mexico’s signature New Deal architecture projects. Architect Louis A. Simmon designed the structure the same year he designed the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. Earlier in his career, he designed what is now the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe.
The Laundress Quarters is a testament to New Mexico’s nineteenth-century Black history. Fort Stanton housed the largest garrison of the Buffalo Soldiers of the Ninth Cavalry in the Southwest. The troops, well-known for their support to local law enforcement, also contributed greatly to the physical landscape with the construction of the Laundress Quarters in 1876. The building is perhaps the only surviving structure directly connected with the Buffalo Soldiers in New Mexico.
The Hospital, built in 1935, was the most modern hospital in New Mexico at the time. It is home to the first elevator in the state.
These improvements offer a more welcoming and comfortable experience for visitors while contributing to county-wide infrastructure improvements and hazard prevention to reduce fire risk and manage wastewater more effectively for neighboring communities.
The water system improvements have greatly impacted Lincoln County, helping the Lincoln County Volunteer Fire Department improve its rating with the Insurance Services Office from 6 to 4, paving the way for more resources from the State Fire Marshal, and potentially lowering premiums for homeowners’ insurance throughout the county.
In fiscal year 2025, another $500,000 will be invested to repair fire station doors, add bear-proof garbage cans, preserve additional buildings, and improve site interpretation, among other upgrades.
About Fort Stanton Historic Site
The 240-acre Fort Stanton New Mexico Historic Site is open Thursday through Monday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and free to children 16 and younger. New Mexico residents with a state ID are admitted free the first Sunday of every month. Fort Stanton is located at 104 Kit Carson Road, Fort Stanton, between Lincoln and Capitan, N.M. Tickets can be purchased online at: https://my.nmculture.org/events?kid=28
About New Mexico Historic Sites
New Mexico Historic Sites is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its donors. The New Mexico Historic Sites system was established in 1931 by an Act for the Preservation of the Scientific Resources of New Mexico. The eight Historic Sites include Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner, Coronado, Fort Selden, Fort Stanton, Jemez, Lincoln, Los Luceros, and Taylor-Mesilla. Learn more at nmhistoricsites.org.