Apache Pass and Fort Bowie
Apache Pass was a much-traveled mountain crossing used by the Chiricahua and other Apaches because of the presence of spring water, an important need to the traveler in this arid country. The Spanish named it Pass of Doubt.
In 1854, after the United States obtained the region by the Gadsden Purchase, Lt. John G. Parke surveyed the pass for railroad use.
Apache Pass and Fort Bowie is located in Cochise County, Arizona and was added as a National Historic Landmark (#72000194) on December 19, 1960
In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail Company ran its trail over the pass and established a stage station, which Cochise, the Chiricahua Chief, kept supplied with wood. The Chiricahuas also received their first official ration issue here. In 1861, Lt. George N. Bascom arrested Cochise and a few other Chiricahuas at the pass in an attempt to obtain the return of a small boy allegedly made captive by these Apaches. Cochise managed to escape, and for ten years thereafter led his warriors on one raid after another throughout southeastern Arizona.
In July 1862, Cochise and his warriors, joined by Mogollon Apaches under Mangas Coloradas, battled the advance guard of the California Column in the pass, but were forced to retreat when a howitzer was turned on them. Gen. James H. Carleton, realizing the Importance of the pass and the spring, immediately ordered the building of Fort Bowie, which was to play an important part in campaigns against Cochise and later against Geronimo.
In 1872, Gen. O. O. Howard rode through Apache Pass to discuss peace terms with Cochise, and for a short period, after the Chiricahuas had been assigned to a reservation, the agency headquarters were located in the pass. In 1876, when the Chiricahuas were moved to the San Carlos Reservation, Geronimo led a faction to Mexico from where he periodically raided into Arizona. Off and on for another ten years, troops from Fort Bowie took the field in pursuit of Geronimo and his warriors before their final surrender, thus bringing an end to 190 years of almost continual Apache warfare with Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans in southeastern Arizona.
The spring, aside from a pipe extending out of one side, remains as it was, and well-preserved traces of the Butterfield Trail are evident at various points throughout the pass.
The original fort, badly eroded, stands on a hill overlooking the strategic springs. It was replaced in 1868 by a larger post, the adobe walls of which, in varying stages of erosion, mark practically all the buildings. The stone corrals still stand and the water system still is evident. The pass remains much as it was when used by the Indians.