Park Information
Park Home
Plan Your Visit
History & Culture
Nature & Science
For Kids
Support Your Park
Site Index

Back to Main Page

Welcome to Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie commemorates the bitter conflict between Chiricahua Apaches and the U.S. military - a lasting monument to the bravery and endurance of U.S. soldiers in paving the way for settlement and the taming of the western frontier. It provides insight into a "clash of cultures," a young nation in pursuit of "manifest destiny," and the hunter/gatherer society fighting to preserve its existence.

 
Ruins at Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie

For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. It was the site of the Bascom Affair, a wagon train massacre, and the battle of Apache Pass, where a large force of Chiricahua Apaches under Mangus Colorados and Cochise fought the California Volunteers.
 
 
 
 

Write to

Fort Bowie National Historic Site, 3203 South Old Fort Bowie Road
Bowie, AZ 85605

Phone

Headquarters
(520) 847-2500

Fax

(520) 847-2221

Climate

The hot and dry Sonoran Desert meets the milder Chihuahuan Desert, and the southern Rocky Mountains abut the northern Sierra Madres. Elevations at Fort Bowie range from 4,550 to 5,250 feet
Communities Surrounding Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Note: The times listed below are approximate driving times to the park.
Bowie, AZ (0 min. )
Willcox, AZ (24 min. ) Pop. 3,733
Cochise, AZ (37 min. ) Pop. 117,755
Solomon, AZ (58 min. )