Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico.The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet north-south (320 by 180 m) and was located on 40 acres (16 hectares).HistoryBefore Fort CraigThe 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo outlined plans for the construction of a series of forts along the new boundaries of Mexico and the United States. Apaches and other Indian groups were reported harassing settlers and travelers on both sides of the border. The attacks by the tribes from inside the United States territory on Mexican soil was something the United States was obligated to prevent under the peace treaty with Mexico. The settlements along the Rio Grande needed protection from Apache and Navajo raids, that required army posts along the Rio Grande Valley.For that later purpose, in 1849, an initial garrison was established at Socorro, New Mexico. It was then replaced by a fort, Fort Conrad, established along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro on the west bank of the river, across and a little above the river crossing from Valverde, at the north end of the Jornada del Muerto in 1851. It only operated for a short while. Although it was an ideal location from which to launch military campaigns against the Apache and Navajo, it was beset by construction problems and was under constant threat of flash floods.
