Camp Naco preservation continues forward march, makes state endangered list

NACO, Ariz. — Thousands of American troops swarmed here long ago, a response to border friction of a different era.

A visible reminder of that turbulent 1911-1923 timeframe — the stucco-walled barracks and officers quarters of Camp Naco — has been placed on the Arizona Preservation Foundation’s 2007 Most Endangered Historic Places list.

“All of the properties we have named are important historic landmarks in Arizona, but unfortunately are in grave danger of collapse, demolition, or destruction,” said Vince Murray, president of the Arizona Preservation Foundation board. “It is critical that residents and government officials act now to save these elements of their cultural heritage before it’s too late.”

The foundation’s mission is to preserve Arizona’s historical, archaeological, architectural and cultural assets.

“Compiled by preservation professionals and historians, the list identifies critically endangered cultural resources of major historical significance to the state,” says the foundation’s Web site.

The endangered-list designation is one of a series of positive developments this year as a broad-based community group has rallied to save the deteriorating buildings that once formed an American stronghold on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The community was galvanized by an arson fire that gutted some of the noncommissioned officers quarters on May 21, 2006. Leaders from Huachuca City, Cochise College, University of Arizona South, Turquoise Valley Golf Course, Naco Fire Department and other community organizations formed the Camp Naco Arizona Preservation Committee, or CNAPC.

In April, the Center for Desert Archeology in Tucson, led by Bill Doelle, sponsored CNAPC in securing a $17,500 grant from the Southwest Foundation for Education and Historic Preservation to initiate preservation work.

In May, more than 50 volunteers participated in a cleanup day at the camp. Most of those helpers were students from Fort Huachuca’s Basic Officer Leadership Course.

In June, the town of Huachuca City was awarded an $80,169 Arizona Heritage Preservation Fund grant written by CNAPC. That grant would provide muscle for intial preservation steps: a building condition assessment, ongoing site cleanup and a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

Perhaps most critical, the Heritage Preservation Fund grant provided about $17,800 toward 2,200 feet of security fencing that Stan’s Fence Co. of Whetstone will soon install around the historic site. The Huachuca City Town Council awarded the contract to Stan’s on Nov. 8.

In October, “Initial asbestos abatement by Environmental Strategies Inc. of Tucson was completed around the two camp barracks quadrangles, clearing the way for the building condition assessment,” said local historian Debby Swartzwelder, a member of the Camp Naco Arizona Preservation Committee.

“R. Brooks Jeffery, coordinator of the Preservation Studies program at the University of Arizona’s College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and two graduate students, Elise Chasse and Kelli Herman, conducted a site survey with the assistance of two UAS history students, Bryan Aguilar and Terry Mueller, and CNAPC members J.C. Mutchler, president; Becky Orozco, community liaison; and Chris Overlock, Web master,” Swartzwelder continued.

“The building assessment will determine the measures needed to stabilize and restore each structure, and from this a long-term plan for preservation can be made,” Swartzwelder said.

“It’s all positive,” Huachuca City Mayor George Nerhan said, noting a ripple effect. “Within a year’s time, there’s a big difference in the Naco community. People are cleaning up and seeing a future.”

The town of Huachuca City received the 16-acre compound as a donation from VisionQuest of Tucson in November 2006 after the private company decided to let go of the burden.

The property is bisected by Willson Road and Newell Street. Johnny Newell was an Irish American immigrant who settled in the area in the late 1800s. In the early 20th century, he leased land to the Army to establish the encampment.

Local historians believe Camp Naco may be the last-standing Buffalo Soldier fortress on the border. The 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments, and later the 25th Infantry Regiment — all Buffalo Soldier units — were the main force at Camp Naco, also known as Camp Newell or the Newell Cantonment.

The 9th and 10th were decorated for maintaining peace in the southeast area of the Arizona Territory during the October 1914 Battle of Naco as Mexico convulsed in revolution.

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• April — Center for Desert Archeology secures $17,500 grant to initiate preservation work.

• June — Huachuca City is awarded an $80,169 Arizona Heritage Preservation Fund grant, enabling the town to secure the camp perimeter and conduct ongoing condition assessment and cleanup.

• August — Camp Naco is placed on the Arizona Preservation Foundation’s 2007 Most Endangered Historic Places list.

• October — Initial asbestos abatement by Environmental Strategies Inc. of Tucson is completed around barracks.

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Herald/Review City Editor Ted Morris can be reached at 515-4614 or by e-mail at cityeditor@svherald.com.

The courtyard of one of two quadrangles of barracks at Camp Naco shows the stuccoed walls that sheltered U.S. Army enlisted soldiers during an earlier time when America had security issues on its southern border. (File photo/Ted Morris•Herald/Review)

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