Fort Naco, Camp Naco, or Fort Newell began as a camp in the Southwest

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on the outskirts of

Naco, Arizona Naco, a Census-Designated Place (CDP) located in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County, Arizona, United States had a recorded population of 1,046 during the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is located directly across the United State ...

as part of the Mexican Border Project. Over time adobe and wooden buildings were constructed to house the garrison along with other permanent structures.

History

Fort Naco, others call it Camp Naco or Fort Newell, was one of the last forts built by the United States in continental territory and is the only remaining border fort out of several that were constructed during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

. Soldiers were first stationed in Naco in November 1910 and remained in the community due to continued fighting across the border, including the

Battle of Naco The Battle of Naco, or the First Battle of Naco due to a later siege was a battle of the Mexican Revolution between Constitutionalist forces and Mexican government forces. Rebel forces under General Alvaro Obregon defeated the Mexican Army garris ...

in 1913 and the later

Siege of Naco The siege of Naco was a major battle fought in the border town of Naco, Sonora, Mexico, between March 31 and April 6, 1929, during the Escobar Rebellion. Following their capture of Cananea in 1928 and the drafting of the "Plan of Hermosillo", rebe ...

in 1915 in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. Subsequent to Pancho Villa’s

attack Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...

on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916, Naco was a staging area for American troops protecting the border. Camp Naco was constructed in 1917 as part of the Mexican Border Project. It was the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the

Arizona National Guard The Arizona National Guard is the National Guard of the American state of Arizona. It consists of the Arizona Army National Guard and the Arizona Air National Guard. Both components are part of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military ...

Camp Naco was home to members of the U.S. Army 9th and 10th Cavalry and 25th Infantry. Fort Huachuca assigned African-American Buffalo Soldier units to its Naco Cantonment or outpost from 1911 to 1924. Their duties focused on patrolling the border and protecting U.S. citizens who came to Naco to watch Mexican Revolution battles raging across the line. From 1935 to 1937, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

was based there. In 1990, the youth services organization VisionQuest bought the property with a plan to open a juvenile treatment facility there. They were not able to do that, and in 2006, an arson fire and the discovery of hazardous asbestos on the site prompted the group to abandon the project. George Nerhan, then mayor of Huachuca City, agreed to take the site over rather than having it be destroyed. As of 2010, the barracks of the fort still stands and has partially been restored. In 2012, the site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. In 2018, the site was acquired by the city of Bisbee. More recently, grant funds have been used to clean up and preserve the site. The nonprofit group Friends of Camp Naco continues to look for a nonprofit organization or individual to take over the camp as a permanent project and adapt it for a future use. On May 4, 2022, Camp Naco was added to th
11 Most Endangered Historic Places
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In October of 2022, the State of Arizona granted $4.6 million to the City of Bisbee for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring Camp Naco.

References

{{reflist Military facilities in Arizona Buildings and structures in Cochise County, Arizona Naco History of Cochise County, Arizona 1917 establishments in Arizona