Algernon D'Ammassa

Headlight Reporter

FORT BAYARD, N.M. – The Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society held a 151st “birthday” celebration last weekend for the army base that later served as a tuberculosis treatment center and a Veterans Administration hospital.

The celebration opened on Friday evening with a showing of a film, "The Buffalo Soldiers," at the New Deal Theatre on the grounds of Fort Bayard. The theatre was constructed by the Works Progress Administration in 1940, at a time when many other barracks and structures were being cleared from the site.

The original installation was built by the 125th U.S Colored Infantry in 1866 near the present-day Village of Santa Clara. Its mission was to protect nearby gold and copper mines, as well as local traffic, from Apache raids. Little remains of the installation from that period other than the central parade ground, now dotted with trees.

Structures from various parts of Fort Bayard’s history remain standing, including a row of two-story duplex houses, a Quonset hut dating from World War II, barracks, an administrative building from the Fort Bayard’s time as a hospital, a National Cemetery, and a large vacant lot where the former Fort Bayard Medical Center stood. The current facility, located near the historic Fort Bayard, was built in 2010.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, volunteers with the Historic Preservation Society in period uniforms and dresses flew the American flag from the flag pole over the parade ground, after which a traditional Apache song was accompanied by four drummers.

Later in the morning, after the gathering of about 20 people had a walking tour of the grounds, there was a Chautauqua performance, in which a scholar assumes the character of an historical figure. Dr. Doug Dinwiddie, a retired professor from New Mexico State University’s Carlsbad campus and Colorado State University, performed as Henry Wright, a white officer who served with African-American “buffalo soldiers” at Fort Bayard. Dinwiddie told the Headlight he enjoys working with this Historic Preservation Society because “I can still do history without having to grade papers.”

Saturday continued with musical performances, burritos, birthday cake, and fresh ice cream, with an evening dinner at the theatre followed by an historical lecture by Larry Francell, retired Director of the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, Texas. Throughout the day, the Society’s Cecilia Bell functioned as master of ceremonies, keeping the schedule on track and making sure everyone had something to eat.

Weekend tours of the historic Fort Bayard are available and a Thursday evening film series promoted on the society’s website is scheduled to run through September. For more information, patrons are invited to call (575) 388-4862 or (575) 388-4477 or obtain more information via www.fortbayard.org.

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-546-2611 (ext. 2608) or adammassa@demingheadlight.com.