Camp Grant Historical Marker: A Window to Arizona's Past

The Camp Grant Historical Marker stands as a solemn reminder of a turbulent period in Arizona's history. Camp Grant, initially established as Fort Breckinridge in 1860, was strategically positioned at the confluence of the San Pedro River and Aravaipa Creek. Its purpose was to protect settlers and miners moving into the area and to control the Apache tribes who had inhabited the land for centuries. The post was abandoned and rebuilt several times between 1860 and 1873, undergoing name changes before settling on Camp Grant in 1866. The location was chosen to command key routes used by Apache tribes, stretching south into Mexico and west towards Tucson. In February 1871, Lieutenant Royal Whitman, the commander at Camp Grant, began providing rations and refuge to local Apache groups. However, this period of relative peace was shattered on April 30, 1871, when a vigilante group from Tucson, composed of Anglo-Americans, Mexican Americans, and Tohono O'odham (Papago) Indians, attacked an Apache settlement near the camp. The massacre resulted in the deaths of over 100 Apaches, mostly women and children. The event, known as the Camp Grant Massacre, remains a controversial and tragic chapter in Arizona's history. Today, little remains of the original Camp Grant. The historical marker serves as a place to reflect on the events that transpired there and to remember the people whose lives were forever changed. The site of the massacre is located approximately five miles upstream from Camp Grant on Aravaipa Creek, but it is unmarked.