Editing Fort Wingate

{{Short description|Fort near Gallup, New Mexico}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name=Fort Wingate
| partof=
| location= [[McKinley County, New Mexico|McKinley County]], near [[Gallup, New Mexico]]
| coordinates = {{coord|35.112466|-107.882652|type:city|format=dms}}
| image= (144)Fort Wingate, New Mexico (shows the fort and houses), 1871 - 1878 - NARA - 517785.tif
| image_size= 300px
| caption=Fort Wingate in the 1870s
| type=
| height=
| ownership=
| controlledby={{flag|New Mexico}}
| condition= ammunition depot, storage facility
| built=1862
| builder= {{flag|United States|1861}}
| used=1862 - 1993
| materials=
| demolished=
| battles=[[Apache Wars]]<br/>[[Navajo Wars]]
| events=
| past_commanders=[[Kit Carson]]<br/>[[William Redwood Price]]
| garrison=[[Navajo Scouts]]<br/>[[Apache Scouts]]<br/>[[4th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|4th Cavalry]]<br />[[8th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|8th Cavalry]]<br/>[[9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|9th Cavalry]] and [[13th Infantry Regiment (United States)|13th Infantry]]<br/>[[15th Infantry Regiment (United States)|15th Infantry]]
| occupants=[[United States Army]]
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Fort Wingate Historic District
  | nrhp_type = hd  |  nocat = yes
  | designated_other1 = New Mexico
  | designated_other1_date = August 22, 1975
  | designated_other1_number = [https://web.archive.org/web/20141110122215/http://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/assets/files/registers/2012%20Report_%20Section%203_%20Arranged%20by%20Number.pdf 403]
  | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
  | image = 
  | caption = 
  | location = [[New Mexico State Road 400|NM&nbsp;400]], [[Fort Wingate, New Mexico]]
  | locmapin = New Mexico#USA
  | built = {{Start date|1868}}
  | added = May 26, 1978
  | area = {{convert|27|acre}}
  | refnum = 78003076<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Apache Scouts.jpg|300px|right |thumb|Apache Scouts visiting Fort Wingate during the 1880s.]]
'''Fort Wingate''' was a military installation near [[Gallup, New Mexico]], United States. There were two other locations in New Mexico called Fort Wingate: [[Seboyeta, New Mexico|Seboyeta]] (1849–1862) and [[San Rafael, New Mexico|San Rafael]] (1862–1868).<ref>San Rafael is at {{coord|35.112466|-107.882652|type:city|format=dms}}.</ref> The most recent Fort Wingate (1868–1993) was established at the former site of Fort Lyon, on [[Navajo]] territory, initially to control and "protect" the large [[Navajo people|Navajo]] tribe to its north. The fort at San Rafael was the staging point for the Navajo deportation known as the [[Long Walk of the Navajo]]. From 1870 onward the garrison near Gallup was concerned with [[Apaches]] to the south, and through 1890 hundreds of [[Navajo Scouts]] were enlisted at the fort.

Fort Wingate supplied 100 tons of [[Composition B]] high explosives to the [[Manhattan Project]] for use in the first [[Trinity test]] and became an [[ammunition depot]] "Fort Wingate Depot Activity" from World War II until it was closed by the [[1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission]]. Environmental cleanup of [[UXO]], [[perchlorate]], and lead as well as land transfer continue to the present day.

The '''Fort Wingate Historic District''' was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978. The associated community was first listed as the Fort Wingate [[census-designated place]] in 2020, with a population of 328 during the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=1600000US3527410&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=P1. Race – Fort Wingate CDP, New Mexico: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=December 3, 2024}}</ref>

== History ==
*Ojo del Oso (in Spanish meaning "Eye of the Bear" or "Bear Spring") was a Navajo place visited for good grazing and water.

===19th century===
*1849: A hay camp was set up near [[Seboyeta, New Mexico]] and was called Fort Wingate.<ref name="NMForts">[http://newmexicohistory.org/places/fort-wingate Fort Wingate] @NewMexicoHistory.org</ref> It was named for Major Benjamin Wingate, 5th U.S. Infantry, who died on 1 June 1862 from wounds he received during the [[Battle of Valverde]].<ref name=frazier>{{cite book |author= Fraizer, Robert Walter|title= Forts of the West |year= 1965|publisher= University of Oklahoma Press |location= Norman |isbn= 0-8061-1250-6 }}</ref>
*1860: Fort Fauntleroy was established at Bear Springs (Ojo del Oso) as an outpost of [[Fort Defiance, Arizona|Fort Defiance]]. Colonel [[Thomas T. Fauntleroy (soldier)|Thomas T. Fauntleroy]] named the fort for himself.<ref name="NMForts"/>
**1861: Fort Fauntleroy was renamed Fort Lyon for Brig. Gen. [[Nathaniel Lyon]], a Unionist, when Fauntleroy left New Mexico to join the [[Provisional Army of Virginia]] after the state seceded from the Union. Fort Lyon was closed on 10 September 1861 at the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name="NMForts"/> 
*1862: Fort Wingate was moved near a large spring at [[San Rafael, New Mexico]], also known as "Bikyaya" or "El Gallo" (the rooster).<ref name=frazier/><ref name="NMForts"/> It was designed to house four companies of troops.
**1864: [[Edward Canby]] ordered Colonel [[Kit Carson]] to bring four companies of the ''First New Mexico Volunteers'' to the fort to "control" the Navajo.
** 1864–1866: It was the staging point for the Navajo deportation known as the [[Long Walk of the Navajo]].
**1865: The New Mexico Military District had 3,089 troops, 135 of them at Fort Wingate.
*1868: Fort Wingate was moved back to the former site of Fort Lyon at Ojo del Oso.<ref>James H. Defouri, ''[https://archive.org/details/TheCatholicChurchInNM Historical Sketch of the Catholic Church in New Mexico]'' (1887) p. 81</ref>
**1868: Navajo people returning from Bosque Redondo were temporarily settled at the Oso Del Ojo Fort Wingate before spreading out into the newly established Navajo Reservation.
**1873–1886: The fort's troops participated in [[Apache Wars]] with troops and recruited [[Navajo Scouts]].
**1878: Fort Wingate had 137 troops.
[[File:Lt. Cornelius C. Smith 1895.jpg|thumb|right|'' In 1895 Second Lieutenant [[Cornelius C. Smith]], a [[Medal of Honor]] recipient, posed with his favorite horse, Blue, in front of his quarters.'']]
**1868–1895: Fort Wingate troops often settled disagreements between Navajo and "citizens" in New Mexico.
**1891: Fort Wingate troops assisted Arizona units against angry [[Hopi]]s.

===20th century===
*1907: Two troops of the [[5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|5th Cavalry]] went from Fort Wingate to the [[Four Corners]] area after some armed Navajo. This was the last armed expedition the US Government made against the Navajo. One Navajo was killed and the rest escaped.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
*1911: A Ft. Wingate company of cavalry went to [[Chaco Canyon]] and camped there several days to quell a possible uprising by Navajo.
*1914: During the [[Mexican Revolution|Mexican Civil War]] over 2,000 Mexican soldiers and their families took refuge at the fort.
*1918: Fort Wingate focus turned from Navajo to [[World War I]].
*1940: Fort Wingate became an [[ammunition depot]] from World War II until 1993.
*1944: Fort Wingate supplied 100 tons of [[Composition B]] high explosives to the [[Manhattan Project]] for use in the first [[Trinity test]].
*1950: [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] was given part of the polluted land for an Indian boarding school.
*1960–67: [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]] and [[Pershing 1]] missiles were tested among others at Wingate.
*1971: DoD Placed Fort Wingate on reserve and re-designated as "Fort Wingate Depot Activity" or FWDA.<ref>[http://www.ftwingate.org/about.html About FWDA], n.d. retrieved 17 June 2017</ref>
*1988: the [[Base Realignment and Closure]] round 1 decided to close the Fort.
*Environmental restoration activities at FWDA began in 1989.<ref name=IAP/>{{rp|11}}
* January 1993: the [[Base Realignment and Closure Act]] (BRAC) closed the post.

===21st century===
*Though the fort's mission ended, the [[Missile Defense Agency]] (MDA) continues to use 6,465 acres for launching target rockets to [[White Sands Missile Range]] (WSMR).<ref name=IAP>[http://www.ftwingate.org/docs/pub/FWDA_IAP_Current.pdf FY2016 Fort Wingate Depot Activity Base Realignment & Closure Installation Action Plan] 29 November 2016, 41 pp</ref>{{rp|6}}
*In December 2005, the [[New Mexico Environment Department]] (NMED) issued the Army a [[Resource Conservation and Recovery Act]] (RCRA) Permit.<ref name=IAP/>{{rp|6}}
*As of 2016, FWDA spread across 21,131 acres, occupied 15,280 acres of land and a BRAC acreage of 14,666.<ref name=IAP/>{{rp|6}}
*Environmental cleanup and land transfer{{when|date=June 2017}} to the surrounding community continues to the present, through at least 2022. 5,854 acres have already been transferred to the Department of Interior.<ref name=IAP/>{{rp|6}} Explosives, [[perchlorate]]s and nitrates are the primary contaminant in the northern groundwater plumes which have not migrated off-post, all other sites consist of relatively minor soil or building contamination without groundwater issues but with explosives, [[SVOCs]], and metals like lead.<ref name=IAP/>{{rp|11}}

==Geography==
Fort Wingate is in western McKinley County, with the inhabited portion located {{convert|15|mi}} by road east-southeast of [[Gallup, New Mexico|Gallup]], the [[county seat]]. [[New Mexico State Road 400]] runs through the community, leading north {{convert|3|mi|0}} to [[Interstate 40]] and south {{convert|8|mi|0}} to [[McGaffey, New Mexico|McGaffey]].

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the Fort Wingate census-designated place has an area of {{convert|2.02|sqmi}}, all land.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2024"/> The area drains north toward the South Fork of the [[Puerco River]], part of the [[Little Colorado River]] watershed.

==Education==
There are two [[Bureau of Indian Education]] (BIE) [[boarding schools]] in the area: Wingate Elementary School,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wes.bie.edu/|title=Home|publisher=Wingate Elementary School|accessdate=2021-07-11}}</ref> and [[Wingate High School (New Mexico)|Wingate High School]].

{{Asof|1956}} the Wingate Elementary dormitory is a former military barracks that also houses students at Wingate High.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fort Wingate Is a Landmark in New Mexico's History|newspaper=[[The Gallup Independent]]|place=[[Gallup, New Mexico]]|date=1956-08-07|page=Section F page 13}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82041855/for-wingate-hs/ Clipping] from [[Newspapers.com]].</ref> In 1968 the girls' dormitory had 125 girls; the [[Associated Press]] stated that the dormitory lacked decoration and personal effects and was reflective of a campaign to de-personalize Native American students. At the time the school strongly discouraged students from speaking [[Navajo language|Navajo]] and wanted them to only speak English.<ref>{{cite news|title='Sit, Wait' Is Indian School Curriculum|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Tucson Daily Citizen]]|date=1968-12-20|page=10}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82070426/for-wingate-nm/ Clipping] from [[Newspapers.com]].</ref> Circa 1977 it opened a 125-student $90,000 building which used a solar heating system.<ref>{{cite news|title=NM school installs solar heater|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Las Vegas Optic]]|place=[[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]|date=1977-11-07|page=10}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82063956/for-wingate-nm/ Clipping] from [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

The non-BIE school district is [[Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st35_nm/schooldistrict_maps/c35031_mckinley/DC20SD_C35031.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: McKinley County, NM|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2021-07-20}}</ref> It is zoned to Indian Hills Elementary School, Kennedy Middle School, and [[Hiroshi Miyamura High School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/|title=GMCS Address Lookup|publisher=[[Gallup-McKinley County Schools]]|accessdate=2022-01-15}} - KML files: [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/ESkmlgoogle.kml Elementary boundaries] and [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/ESpoints1b.kml locations], [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/MSkmlgoogle1a.kml Middle boundaries] and [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/MSLocsnew.kml locations], and [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/HSkmlgoogle.kml High boundaries] and [https://www.arcforms.info/gmcsmapping/HSLocsnew.kml locations].</ref>

==Notable people==
* Lt. [[Charles B. Gatewood]] (1853–1896) led many patrols out of Wingate and later convinced [[Geronimo]] to surrender
*1881–85 General [[Douglas MacArthur]] lived at the fort as an infant, with his father, a Captain in command of Company K, [[13th Infantry Regiment (United States)|13th US Infantry]].
*1889–90 General [[John Pershing|John J. (Black Jack) Pershing]] served as Lieutenant at the fort.

==See also==
{{Portal|New Mexico|National Register of Historic Places}}
*[[National Register of Historic Places in McKinley County, New Mexico]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fort Wingate}}
*https://web.archive.org/web/20160728222747/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/forngate.htm Includes chronology and launch log
*http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-wingate.htm Includes comprehensive history on Fort Wingate
*http://www.ftwingate.org/ Website dedicated to the cleanup
*[http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/18/18_p0151_p0158.pdf The History of Fort Wingate, by Harold James, 18th NM Genealogical Field Conference]
*{{HAER |survey=NM-3 |id=nm0150 |title=Fort Wingate Depot Activity, Gallup, McKinley County, NM |data=36}}

{{Coord|35|28|04|N|108|32|26|W|source:enwiki-plaintext-parser|display=title}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{McKinley County, New Mexico}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Forts in New Mexico|Wingate]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in McKinley County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Former installations of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico]]
[[Category:History of McKinley County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Ruins on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:1860 establishments in New Mexico Territory]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1862]]
[[Category:1993 disestablishments in New Mexico]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in McKinley County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico|Wingate]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in McKinley County, New Mexico]]