NPS Santa Fe National Historic Trail
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  • 0923. Blockhouse Jail

    Image of the front of hexagonal sandstone building.

    Built in the of winter 1864-65 to strengthen the fort's defenses, partly due to a Kiowa raid in June of 1864 that resulted in the loss of 172 horses, this hexagonal stone building contained a powder magazine, two levels of rifle slits or loopholes, an underground passageway, and well. However, it was not needed for defense, so in 1867 it was converted into a guardhouse and served as the post jail.


    The original structure was dismantled around 1900 by civilian owners who used its sandstone blocks to build other structures and to shore up the wooden porches on officers' row. When the building was rebuilt in in 1986, at least 200 of the original stones were used in the reconstruction.