Fort Union State Monument

Fort Union State Monument

Northeast region of New MexicoFort Union was established in 1851 as the guardian of the Santa Fe Trail. During it's forty-year history, three different forts were constructed close together. The third Fort Union was the largest in the American Southwest, and functioned as a military garrison, territorial arsenal, and military supply depot for the southwest. The largest visible network of Santa Fe Trail ruts can be seen here.

The Santa Fe Trail was a link in Indian trade networks ancient before the Spaniards arrived. It would serve the Spaniards of New Mexico as a route of exploration, frontier defense, and trade with the Plains Indians. In the 1700's, despite Spanish rules against it, a small trade began with Frenchmen from the Mississippi Valley. Later, Americans exploring the Louisiana Purchase visited New Mexico and recognized an isolated province starved for manufactured goods and eager for mercantile exchange. With Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821, the gates of trade opened wide.

Fort Union National Monument
P.O. Box 127
Watrous, NM
Phone (505) 425-8025
www.nps.gov/foun/