Fort Wingate

Fort Wingate is located seven miles east of Gallup along Interstate 40, near the Navajo and Zuni reservations. Set on the ancestral lands of both tribes, its history is deeply rooted in the Indian Wars of the 19th century.

Succeeding an earlier fort established from 1860 to 1865, Fort Wingate became a military base in 1868 to maintain order on the Navajo Reservation and to protect railroad construction. Due to constant conflicts with the Apache, the fort soon became an incarceration center for these Indians, while many Navajo warriors enlisted as scouts.

After the Indian Wars, Fort Wingate's strategic value declined and the site was decommissioned in 1912, before being used briefly in 1914 and 1915 as an internment camp for refugees from the Mexican Revolution. In 1925, it became the site of an Indian school and then, during World War II, was used as a military depot. Its igloo-shaped buildings are still clearly visible from Route 66.

The fort's cemetery continues to be the burial place of Navajo veterans (many of whom were employed as Code Talkers during the Pacific War).

A marker recalling the significance of the site is located at the corner of Exit 33 of I-40 and NM-400. The fort can only be visited after a call (in 2022) from the Wingate Elementary School principal.

The small town of Fort Wingate, 2.7 miles away, is not of particular interest.