What is stored at Fort Wingate?

According to the Navajo and Zuni, Fort Wingate is an ancestral home of both tribes. In 1918, the Army established a munitions-depot around an old cavalry post. From 1918 until its closure in 1993, the 22,000-acre installation stored and demolished ammunition.

What is the cultural significance of Fort Wingate for the Navajo?

Fort Wingate remained a large and active installation operating primarily as a police force for the Navajo reservation and the surrounding area. One of its roles was to protect construction activities of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, which played a key role in fostering western settlement and tourism.

What was Fort Wingate originally called?

1849 A hay camp was set up near Seboyeta, New Mexico and was called Fort Wingate. It was named for Major Benjamin Wingate, 5th U.S. Infantry, who died on 1 June 1862 from wounds he received during the Battle of Valverde. 1860 Fort Fauntleroy was established at Bear Springs (Ojo del Oso) as an outpost of Fort Defiance.

Can you visit Fort Wingate?

Visit the Fort: Fort Wingate Visit the Old Fort: From Route 66 which is the north frontage road of I-40, cross to the south and head along NM-400, for 3 miles until reaching “Fort Wingate” (see Map showing road).

Where is Fort Wingate army depot in New Mexico?

The Fort Wingate Army Depot, located 7 miles east of Gallup, sits among the red rocks along U.S. Interstate 40, next to the reservations of the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo Tribe in New Mexico. According to the Navajo and Zuni, Fort Wingate is an ancestral home of both tribes.

When was Fort Wingate Depot Activity activity closed?

1971 DoD Placed Fort Wingate on reserve and re-designated as “Fort Wingate Depot Activity” or FWDA. In 1988, the Base Realignment and Closure round 1 decided to close the Fort. Environmental restoration activities at FWDA began in 1989. In January 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) closed the post.

How big is the facility at Fort Wingate?

Company facilities include a 1,000 acre site, with 150 storage bunkers and 50,000ft2 of buildings, that constitutes TPL’s state-of-the-art demilitarizaton facility at Fort Wingate. TPL uses space at Fort Wingate to “demilitarize” a variety of surplus munitions by breaking them down into safe, recyclable materials.

What was Fort Wingate used for in World War 2?

Fort Wingate supplied 100 tons of Composition B high explosives to the Manhattan Project for use in the first Trinity test and became an ammunition depot “Fort Wingate Depot Activity” from World War II until BRAC closed it in 1993. Environmental cleanup of UXO, perchlorate and lead as well as land transfer continue to the present day.