Fort Selden State Monument, New Mexico

Fort Selden State Monument is off Interstate 25 at Exit 19 about 13 miles north of Las Cruces, at Radium Springs.

Fort Selden was built in 1865 to protect settlers from outlaws and Apache Indians, and for a quarter of a century it served its purpose. The Fort was across the Rio Grande from Robledo Mountain, atop which the army established a sun telegraph or heliograph station. Reflections of the sun sent signals 50 miles or more to other military heliograph stations.

In 1884, the post commander was Captain Arthur MacArthur, whose son Douglas rose to fame during World War II. He spent several years of his childhood at Fort Selden when the fort housed a company of infantry and cavalry, including units of black troops often called "Buffalo Soldiers."