Cantonment Burgwin

Coordinates: 36°16′32″N 105°34′37″W / 36.27556°N 105.57694°W / 36.27556; -105.57694

Cantonment Burgwin (also known as Fort Burgwin) was a fort located at 10 miles (16 km) outside of Taos, Taos County, New Mexico, United States, southeast of Ranchos De Taos. It was established in 1852 to protect the Taos Valley from Utes and Jicarilla Apaches.[1] It was named after Captain John H. K. Burgwin in honor of his death in 1847 while fighting at the Siege of Pueblo de Taos. He was buried there. It was designated a "cantonment" to indicate its temporary character.[2]

Fort Burgwin is known for its role in the Battle of Cieneguilla, a battle fought between the 1st Cavalry Regiment (United States) and the Jicarilla Apache.

Cantonment Burgwin was abandoned by the U. S. Army in May, 1860. Several structures were rebuilt starting in 1957 and continued until 2004, financed initially by Ralph Rounds until his death in 1960. The new structures were known as the Fort Burgwin Research Center.

Later, William Clements, Chairman of the Board at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas added funding for several other buildings on the hill slopes around Fort Burgwin. The core buildings are external reconstructions of the original buildings, but the interiors of several of the buildings are modern and serve as offices and classrooms. The site currently serves as the SMU-in-Taos campus, which offers for-credit Summer and Fall college classes, including the SMU archaeology field school, and the Cultural Institute, which offers weekend informal classes taught by SMU faculty.

See also

References

  1. ↑ New Mexico Historic Markers
  2. ↑ Cantonment Burgwin Archived January 19, 2005, at the Wayback Machine.


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