Fort Selden

A contract was awarded to remove the bodies from the fort cemetery for reinternment at Fort Bliss in Texas. The contractor was paid, in part, by receiving the wooden parts of the building, so only the adobe walls were left standing.

A legend grew that during an Indian raid the paymaster of the Fort buried gold and then was killed in the raid. Over the years, treasure hunters vandalized the ruins, particularly the old fireplaces, seeking the treasure but also weakening the adobe walls.

In 1972, the State of New Mexico took over Fort Selden as a state monument. Today (1999) the stark adobe brick walls of the frontier post evoke a feeling of personal connection to the past.