Fort Union National Monument / Santa Fe Trail
1851-1891
Side A:
Fort Union National Monument 1851-1891
Once the largest post in the Southwest, Fort Union was established to control the Jicarilla Apaches and Utes, to protect the Santa Fe Trail, and to serve as a supply depot for other New Mexico forts. The arrival of the railroad and the pacification of the region led to its abandonment in 1891.
Side B:
Santa Fe Trail
The difficulty of bringing caravans over rocky and mountainous Raton Pass kept most wagon traffic on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail until the 1840's. Afterwards, the Mountain Branch, which here approaches Raton Pass, became more popular with traders, immigrants, gold seekers, and government supply trains.
Marker can be reached from Interstate 25 at milepost 375.5, 8.6 miles north of New Mexico Route 161.
Courtesy hmdb.org
