5/21/25: Las Cruces to the Chile Capital via Ft. Selden!

On one of our last days in Las Cruces, Steven and I drove north along a country road, stopping at a couple of sites en route to Hatch, the self-proclaimed chile capital of the world. We passed thousands of pecan trees, later learning that New Mexico grows the second-most number of pecan trees after Georgia. That was surprising to me, as I'd have thought it would have been another southern state to claim that honor!

A little north of Las Cruces was the village of Doña Ana, established in 1842 as a way station along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, also known as the Royal Road to the Interior, which connected Mexico City to Nuevo México. Doña Ana claims to be the oldest settlement in the state and is also home to southern New Mexico's oldest church, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction on the lovely old Church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, also known as Our Lady of Purification, began in stages around 1844 and was built in the vernacular adobe style. 

A woman in the church office kindly opened up the church and gave us a brief tour.

The oldest available photograph of the church, taken around 1910, depicts it being built with a flat roof using traditional vigas or beams and latillas or small poles laid across the vigas ceiling, and sealed with packed mud that would have required regular maintenance.

The whitewashed adobe church was restored in the early 1990s after facing potential collapse due to moisture damage from the use of cement plaster. In 1986, however, services and parishioners were forced to move to a new, larger church across the parking lot due to the deteriorating condition of the old mission church. Our 'guide' told me that the church is now only used for special occasions. 

Passing the Robledo Mountains and the south end of the fertile Mesilla Valley that grows alfalfa, cotton, chile, onions, and corn in addition to the pecans we'd seen earlier, we headed to our next stop, the Fort Selden Historic Site.

I appreciated how two Boy Scouts from a local troop had earned the top award in Scouting after building this shelter, as both our sons also earned their Eagle Award years ago.

The Desert Rabbit was sculpted by Sean Rising Sun Flanagan, an artist from the Taos Pueblo, who drew inspiration from traditional images of his native roots. 

Before the U.S. military chose this location for its fort, the site had been home to the prehistoric Mogollon people, a hunting ground for various Apache Indian bands, a resting place for Spanish settlers in the late 1500s, and a campsite for weary travelers for the next 200 years. 

Conflicts between the Apache and Spanish continued until 1848, when New Mexico became a U.S. Territory, and more settlers encroached on the Apache's traditional lands, which led to a worsening of hostilities. After the Civil War ended, the U.S. Army was drawn to the vast region that spanned from Montana to New Mexico, home to numerous Native American tribes. As the Americans felt it was their destiny and right to dominate the continent (a sentiment that sounds eerily familiar at this time), dozens of military outposts sprang up throughout the West. 

Fort Selden was built in 1865 to protect travelers and settlers from raids by Native Americans and desperadoes. About 1800 soldiers, including more than 400 African American soldiers known as Buffalo Soldiers, were stationed here. As hostilities lessened, the military's needs changed, and, perhaps more importantly, Native Americans were confined to reservations, the fort was abandoned in 1891.

We were warned to be cautious when walking around the fort, as late May marks the peak rattlesnake season for these cold-blooded reptiles, which are more active in the spring.

The Fort was built of sun-dried adobe bricks by the same troops who guarded the post. The roofs consisted of cottonwood logs, covered by brush and mud. 

How despairing for family members to learn that more of their loved ones were killed by their fellow soldiers and the citizens in the nearby community of Leasburg than by any tribe members. 

Fort Selden soldiers provided escort services across areas considered dangerous, manned picket posts, guarded water holes, chased bandits, and protected railroad workers. I had to smile reading that the soldiers sometimes had to march for weeks without spotting their resourceful enemy, the Apaches!

The soldiers' poor diet, inadequate sanitation, and an abundance of bedbugs and lice combined to create a high rate of illness at many frontier posts. Scurvy was rampant among enlisted men in the 1870s, and epidemics of influenza, cholera, diphtheria, and smallpox swept through the forts. Post doctors had few resources to combat the diseases or treat wounds suffered in the field. 

In the century preceding the advent of modern cars, transportation relied on wagons pulled by horses, oxen, or donkeys. This doctor's small and lightweight buggy, or gig carriage, dates to the 1880s. It was designed to carry one or two passengers, with a focus on speed and convenience, critical for doctors to respond to emergencies.

Leaving the Visitor Center to tour the Fort, we noticed a sign that indicated patrons could borrow an umbrella to help ward off the brutal desert sun and heat. The brilliant idea was new to us. 

Children, or those young at heart, were invited to make and bring home their own adobe bricks, another engaging idea.

After a description of Apache pottery, people were also invited to paint their own pottery. How is it that such a small state historic site in New Mexico had such innovative ways to make history appealing to little ones, and much larger and better-funded national sites do not?

The bronze sculpture of a Buffalo Soldier, titled The Sentinel, was created by Reynaldo Rivera. It was a tribute to the dedication and sacrifice of African-American soldiers on the Western frontier during the late 19th century. 

Buffalo Soldiers served at Fort Selden beginning in 1866 in exclusively African-American units that were overseen by White officers. One of their vital roles was escort duty, traveling south to Las Cruces, Deming, and El Paso, and north to Albuquerque, and even Santa Fe. African-American cavalry also performed other essential tasks, such as scouting local terrain, tracking reported raiders, and responding to calls for aid. In the late 1800s, 18 Buffalo Soldiers, 8 who had served in New Mexico, received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest accolade in the U.S. military.

Although the 1,500-mile-long El Camino Real was formally established by the Spanish in 1598, Native Americans had used the route for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. The corridor was used for centuries and remains one of North America's oldest and most significant routes. 

The El Camino Real's original route passed right through this spot. Mexico City was 1,313 miles south, and Santa Fe was 283 miles north. 

This area had been the Commanding Officer's Quarters. 

The pictures below show the before-and-after shots of Officers' Row, where officers and their families lived. Although the officers enforced military protocol, the women at Fort Selden performed tasks that kept the isolated community functioning. They cared for the sick in the fort's hospital, taught children, grew produce in the company gardens, and organized social events.

Just beyond Officer's Row was the post trader store, hotel, and post office. The railroad's arrival in 1881 brought more goods to the store, making life a little more comfortable for the soldiers. 

The Parade Ground was a large, open rectangle surrounded by the fort's buildings. It was a significant component of life at a fort, with drills and parade duties. Although Fort Selden was never the site of a dramatic military battle, this didn't mean the soldiers sat idly by. The bugle call was a key marker in a soldier's day, signaling when to wake up, have breakfast, prepare for roll call, start marching, and so on. 

The parade ground was also where the fort hosted social events and celebrations for national holidays. Pecan trees lined the path adjacent to the parade ground.

At one corner of the large fort were the ruins of the Fort Bakery. The head baker was responsible for ensuring the soldiers received their daily ration. However, I read separately that the diet consisted of not much more than flour, bacon grease, and an occasional apple.

Next to the bakery was the recreated hospital, where the post doctor cared for soldiers, travelers, and locals. Women and children volunteered during the major diphtheria outbreak that hit the fort and the surrounding area in 1866.  

The soldiers' barracks were divided into separate units for the cavalry and infantry. Fort Selden's sleeping quarters did not meet military standards, as approximately 75 men were accommodated in each quarter on double bunk beds.  

Fort Selden's soldiers patrolled more than 16,000 square miles of the Southwest. Their lives were not easy, as Native Americans knew the land better than the soldiers, making pursuits very challenging. The gunfights and horseback chases we remember from watching old Westerns on TV rarely occurred at the fort. I was surprised to learn that the 1870 census revealed the soldiers at Fort Selden came from all over the world, including Canada, France, Poland, Switzerland, England, and Ireland, among others.

Some of the earliest preservation work at Fort Selden was conducted at the site of the former Company Barracks, utilizing metal posts. Later preservation efforts included stabilizing the adobe walls to help ensure they continue to stand. 

The Robelo Mountains in the background:

This corner of the fort housed the quartermaster and commissary, which served the basic needs of the fort, including feeding the horses, operating the bakery, and providing materials necessary for fort repairs. 

We could spot the outlines of the Fort Selden Jail here, and where the cells used to be. The only two-story building in the fort was the courtroom, located above the prison. If a soldier stepped out of line or committed a crime, this is where they ended up. Isolation, boredom, repetitive days, long-range missions, and limited entertainment led soldiers to bend ot break the rules.

Steven in jail!

The space inside the wagons was very tight. How people coped with traveling over long distances was amazing.. 

The quartermaster corral housed the mules, horses, and wagons used for transporting supplies, escort duties, and general use around the post. 

After Fort Selden closed in 1891, the military removed window frames and timber support beams to be used elsewhere. The loss of these critical components weakened the building's structures and hastened the site's erosion. Additionally, the high sand content in the adobe used at Fort Selden, combined with the lack of organic material, made the fort especially vulnerable to deterioration. 

Our walking tour of the fort ended with learning about its eventual creation as a historic site. After talks fell through regarding the conversion of Fort Selden into an Indian School, the fort changed ownership several times throughout the 20th century before finally becoming a New Mexico State Monument in 1974. One of the most important jobs performed by the site's staff is adobe preservation to prevent the site from being completely washed away!

I was a huge fan of Fort Selden, not only for its detailed description of life at the fort in the latter half of the 19th century, but also for its impressive activities available for children, including a Snakes and Ladders-type game set in the era and area. 

Samples of Adobe were free for the taking!

With the current political climate and rounding up of illegal residents, it was unnerving going through a Border Patrol check north of Fort Selden en route to Hatch. I wish I could say I felt even a hint of what people without papers experience daily in this country, but that would be untrue. After the guard glanced into the rear seat of our car and saw no one, we were waved through.

Sitting at an elevation of almost 4,100 feet, the town of Hatch was originally established in 1851 as Santa Barbara, but settlers were driven away by Apache raids until two years later, when Fort Thorn was built. However, when the fort closed in 1860, the town was again abandoned for 15 years. It saw new life in 1875 when it was renamed for Edward Hatch, the commander of New Mexico's Military District. 

Renowned for its green chile, the community of Hatch holds a Chile Festival every Labor Day weekend in celebration of New Mexico's most celebrated cash crop. Because of its association with chiles, tiny Hatch has earned a much larger name than you might think, considering its population of just 2,000. For those of us living in Colorado, there's a fierce debate as to whether Colorado or Hatch serves the best chile. You can guess what side of that argument our allegiances lie!

There was a colorful collection of kitschy characters at the major intersection in town that must make everyone either smile or groan!

The most famous restaurant in town was Sparky's, with its own assortment of characters to entice passersby to stop in for a half-pound of meat and two sides or a green chile burger! Unfortunately, it was closed when we drove up from Las Cruces.

Luckily, there were vendors galore set up along the main drag selling chiles, and more unusual sights to gawk at, that made the drive to Hatch a lark. 

As we drove south toward Las Cruces, we wondered what was being grown in the fertile Mesilla Valley. Steven and I have often joked about how we wish farmers would put up signs by the road indicating what their crops were!

We entertained thoughts for a while about exploring the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument and the Shalam Colony on the way south, but gave up after a fairly long detour when the road turned to gravel. The colony existed from 1884 until 1901 on the banks of the Rio Grande near the village of Doña Ana. It was established by a group of Utopian followers called Faithists under the leadership of John Ballou Newbrough. He devised a plan to gather the world's outcast and orphaned children, raising them as the spiritual leaders of a new age. He sounded like a man far ahead of his time.

Next post: A couple of days later, we said Adios to Las Cruces and headed east to White Sands National Missile Range, White Sands National Park, and a few more places.

Posted on July 21st, 2025, from a sweltering Denver with our temps reaching over 100 degrees for the first time this year. It's also a day I fear many of us will long remember for the US attack on three of Iran's nuclear sites. Let us all hope for and pray for peace in the days ahead, and let cooler heads prevail. Especially now, take care of yourself and hold your loved ones close.