Discovering the History of Fort Sumner, New Mexico

We are camping at Lake Sumner State Park, but we found that the lake isn't the star of the show here. Fort Sumner is the reason that most people visit this area. This little town has so many historical secrets! So we made a trip to the fort that is now known as Bosque Redondo Memorial Site. Situated on the Pecos River, this fort was built in 1863 to serve as the make-shift reservation for thousands of Navajo Indians forced to move here.

When we visited the Navajo National Monument in Arizona several weeks ago, we heard about "The Long Walk." That's when the U.S. calvary rounded up the Navajo that were at odds with the pioneers that were settling in that part of the United States. The way to settle the Indian disputes was to relocate the Navajo to Fort Sumner. Many members of the tribe died in the 400-mile forced march known as "The Long Walk." Denisa is listening to an audiophone describing life at the fort.

The soldiers lived in barracks on the grounds of the fort.

The Navajo didn't want to live in the planned stucco buildings surrounding the fort, so they built traditional Indian structures in the fields. Even though our walk here today was lovely, they were miserable for the eight years they were held at Fort Sumner. Now known as Bosque Redondo, the Navajo never return to this place of exile.

As we walked on the nature trail at this controversial location, we found a deer crossing in front of us. She was almost as curious about us, as we were of her.

That wasn't our only animal picture of the day. We also visited the sheep that are raised here at the state historical site. The Spaniards had introduced churro sheep to the southwest, and the Navajo raised them here at Bosque Redondo.

These churro sheep are easy to recognize because the males may have 3 or 4 horns. But it's the females that we are here to see. We found out this little lamb was born just last night.

Another ewe had a new set of twins this weekend. The three of them were all sporting that tuft of white fur on their foreheads. Denisa will say that there are few things cuter than baby lambs.

After the Navajo returned to their homes in Arizona, the U.S. government gave each exiled Navajo two churro sheep to start their herds. So even those cute baby lambs are part of the history we learned today. 

As if we hadn't already learned enough history, on the grounds of the fort we also found this marker. This is where Henry McCarty died. Most people won't recognize that name, as he had an alias--William H. Bonney. Most people won't recognize that name either as history remembers him by his other alias--"Billy the Kid." He was shot by the local sheriff right here in 1881.

Billy the Kid is buried in a small graveyard just down the road. His  gray headstone is imprisoned in a cage in the cemetery. That's because the stone has been stolen several times. It was found once in California, and another time in Texas. Now that Billy the Kid is locked up, it looks like he will stay forever here at Fort Sumner.

Besides hosting a dark time in Navajo history, and bringing down one of the notorious villains of the day, this little town has a lot of history for visitors like us to learn.