Fort Yuma

Crossing Imperial County – Stop 15 

So here it is, 246 miles and in theory roughly ten hours to go to the 15 state landmarks of Imperial County as we reach the end of the eastbound line at Ft. Yuma. From 1892 to today the fort has been part of the 45,000 acre Quechan Reservation and has provided a variety of services in that time. Hungry? Tacos Mi Ranchito on 4^th in Yuma AZ is less than a mile away.

From the album ‘Landmarks of Imperial County’:

It was also called Camp Independence for a brief time before becoming Camp Yuma.  Of note was that it never had walls and was more of a barracks than a Fort, with the purpose of defending the Yuma crossing, providing military protection for wagon trains and attempting to control the Yuma Indians within a 100 mile area.  As many as 60,000 emigrants crossed the Colorado River at Fort Yuma in 1851. 

As the hottest Army post in the country, they used thick sun dried brick walls with double wooden roofs and covered sentry walkways to lessen the heat's effect, yet many soldiers were ill prepared for this duty and died from complications of heat stroke and exhaustion. In mid summer the soldiers had no duties and would attempt to sleep after midnight on the rooftops.

Plaque Inscription: State Historical Landmark No. 806 FORT YUMA Originally called Camp Calhoun, the site was first used as a U.S. military post in 1849. A fire destroyed the original buildings. By 1855 the barracks had been rebuilt. Called Camp Yuma in 1852, it became Fort Yuma after reconstruction. Transferred to the Department of the Interior and the Quechan Indian Tribe in 1884, it became a boarding school operated by the Catholic Church until 1900.

Location: On bank of Colorado River,

350 Picacho Road

, Winterhaven

Google maps: 32.730613,-114.615523

    

FORT YUMA                                    © Radio Flier Music

Chorus - Aye yi, Fort Yuma, Fort Yuma we've come a long way

Aye yi, Fort Yuma, we make Fort Yuma today

From the Mountains Springs grade we made Desert Tower

And drank at the Yuha well

We rested a time at Camp Salvation

And visited Ft. Pacheco

Then we moved on to dance at the Rancho

And down the

Old Plank Road

Then off to see Camp Pilot Knob

Oh the things this Valley has known

We saw the sculptures of Driftwood Charley

And went to a couple of mines

Some trails were short some took forever

 Fort Yuma the trail will wind

We saw the place in 1540

The search for the cities of gold

We then learned the fate of those two missions

It's been an adventurous road

Fort Yuma's so hot there's the tale of the soldier

Who died and went down to hell

But he came back to pick up some blankets

To lessen the devilish chill