Fort Bowie was established in 1862 to help in the fight against the Apache Indians and Geronimo. The fort that stands today was built in 1868. In 1886, after Geronimo's final surrender, Fort Bowie was no longer a military fort and served travelers until 1894. The Second Cavalry troopers packed up and left for their new home in Colorado. The land was sold in 1911 for $1.25 to $2.50 an acre and many of the buildings dismantled. In 1964, the site was authorized to be a National Historic site as it is today. - ghosttowns.com

Ft. Bowie served as a base of operations for the resulting offenses against Geronimo in 1885. The commanding generals at Ft. Bowie during the 1885-86 campaign were Gen. George Crook and Nelson Miles. After Geronimo's final surrender in 1886, he and his followers, now numbering only 34 were brought to the post. On September 8, as a photographer focused his camera lens on this historic scene, the Apaches were loaded into wagons to begin their journey to Florida where the remainder of the Chiricauhuas at San Carlos had already been exiled. Geronimo later died at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma - Harry & Ingrid McNeer