| Fort Grant | |
|---|---|
| Aravaipa Canyon,Arizona | |
 Fort Grant,c. 1885 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Armyfortification |
| Controlled by |  Arizona |
| Condition | Repurposed as astate prison |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 32°37′26.1″N109°56′41.7″W / 32.623917°N 109.944917°W /32.623917; -109.944917 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1872 |
| Built by |  United States |
| In use | 1860–1905 |
| Battles/wars | Apache Wars |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants |  United States Army |
Fort Grant is astate prison and a formerUnited StatesArmyfortification in the U.S. state ofArizona. Fort Grant is located on the southwestern slope ofMount Graham in what is nowGraham County. The post is named forUlysses S. Grant, the18th President of the United States.[1]
Fort Grant began its life in August 1860 in theArizona Territory as anOld West outpost namedFort Breckinridge, at the junction ofAravaipa Creek and theSan Pedro River. Fort Breckinridge was destroyed and the site was abandoned in 1861, following removal of theUnion garrison at the start of theAmerican Civil War.
The site of Fort Breckinridge was reoccupied as Fort Stanford, or Camp Stanford, from 1862 to 1865 by troops of theCalifornia Column. When the U.S. Army proper finally reoccupied the site, it was renamedCamp Grant between 1865 and 1872. In 1872, after theCamp Grant Massacre, the United States Army post at "old" Camp Grant (at the confluence of Aravaipa Creek and the San Pedro River) was relocated to the southwestern slope ofMount Graham in what is nowGraham County. The new fort was strategically placed so as to protect settlers who were constantly harassed byApache warriors. It played a prominent role in theApache Wars of the 1880s.
Henry McCarty, better known as "Billy the Kid", reportedly settled in the vicinity of Fort Grant in 1876, working as a ranch hand and tending sheep nearby. In 1877, McCarty killed a local blacksmith at a saloon and gambling house that is now called the Bonita Store, located a few miles from Fort Grant. McCarty was taken into custody at the Fort Grant stockade, but escaped to theNew Mexico Territory before he could be tried. Fort Grant was also the departure point for the pay wagons carrying currency during theWham Paymaster robbery of 1889.
Edgar Rice Burroughs was stationed at Fort Grant in 1896 as an enlisted man after failing the entrance exam for theUnited States Military Academy at West Point. He was discharged in 1897 after being diagnosed with a heart condition that made him ineligible for a commission. The fort was repurposed in 1900 as a staging point for soldiers going to thePhilippines to fight in thePhilippine–American War.
Fort Grant was abandoned by the Army in 1905, which transferred all troops toFort Huachuca and left the fort unoccupied except for acaretaker. In 1912, Arizona gainedstatehood, and the fort was occupied by the State Industrial School for Wayward Boys and Girls, which modernized most of the buildings.[2][3]
In 1968, the state of Arizona officially assigned the site to theDepartment of Corrections, and in 1973, Fort Grant became a state prison for male convicts. In 1997, the prison became a unit of anArizona State Prison complex headquartered inSafford. The main road to and from Fort Grant isArizona State Route 266. An abandoned general-aviation airport,Angel Field, is immediately south of the prison.
The Fort Grant Historical Museum was once located in the lobby of the administration building, outside the prison grounds. The museum featured artifacts and photos about the fort's military history up through its history as a state reformatory and later as a state prison.[4]
Fort Grant no longer has a visitor area or museum. Visitors are not allowed on prison property unless it is to visit an incarcerated inmate. The administration building has been closed and has no known plans to reopen.[citation needed]
According to theKöppen climate classification, Fort Grant has asemi-arid climate,BSk' on climate maps.[5]
32°37′22″N109°56′45″W / 32.62278°N 109.94583°W /32.62278; -109.94583
Municipalities and communities ofGraham County, Arizona,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Populated places | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
