FORT UNION Administrative History

Figure 9. In late 1956, the stabilization team first worked on the remaining chimneys.
Photo shows Martin Archuleta and other unidentified workers filling a chimney with cement.
Courtesy of Fort Union National Monument.

Along with the development of supporting facilities, the excavation and stabilization of the ruins received an equal amount of resources and energies from the Park Service. During his trip to Fort Union on December 13, 1955, archeologist Charles Steen of the Park Service realized that deterioration was taking place with astonishing speed at the ruins. Photographs taken in 1945 showed two dozen chimneys standing at full height; ten years later, only six full chimneys remained, and two of them probably would not survive another winter. [19] Steen's discovery urged the Park Service to come up with protective measures for the crumbling walls and chimneys. Accepting his suggestion, the regional office decided to start a rehabilitation program as soon as the monument was established.

On August 1, 1956, archeologist George Cattanach arrived at Fort Union to direct the stabilization and excavation of the ruins. Even though the Park Service already had accumulated much experience in the stabilization and preservation of historic structures, the adobe walls at the fort posed a new challenge. Because there was no proven method for stabilizing adobe buildings, trial and experimentation seemed to be the only satisfactory answer. Only a week after he reported for duty, Cattanach led a crew of five men to begin the emergency preservation program. Prior to this work, Acting Superintendent Wing had directed a four-man team to work on several preliminary projects such as picking up roofing tin from the grounds. This work made Cattanach's job easier. The initial objectives consisted of clearing away rubble and debris, reinforcing chimneys with concrete, and experimenting with various materials for capping the adobe walls. [20] In the first two months, excellent weather enabled the crew to complete the stabilization work on the remaining chimneys of the commanding officer's residence, and to clear the original flagstone sidewalks that totaled about 800 lineal feet in front of officer's row.

Although Cattanach and his workers accomplished the initial work, the entire program lasted less than three months. In the first two months, the stabilization crew spent $6,700 of the project's total $18,020 budget for the 1957 fiscal year. Thus, in late October, the park had to lay off four persons due to lack of funds. [21] During the winter, Cattanach and the only maintenance man excavated sections of the ruins. At the same time, he was planning a stabilization program for the next season, developing techniques, securing materials, and acquiring advice. The high winter winds continued to level the more fragile adobes. Once a six-foot block of chimney was blown down.

The stabilization work resumed in the spring of 1957. The first season provided the monument staff with much useful experience. Because the adobe walls of the forty historic buildings comprised a total length of five miles, one hundred percent preservation was impractical and too costly. Wing and Cattanach tried to define a limited objective for the project. Any building that contained more than fifty percent of original wall material would receive maximum stabilization attention. But they did not deliberately ignore the other structures because they knew that once a building was reduced to foundations alone, it became much less interesting to visitors. [22] Their strategy for priority never restrained their willingness to save as much of the ruins as possible. In May, the stabilization crew increased to seven members with directions to focus on the adobe walls. They used steel braces and cement paste to support the weakened portions of buildings. Then the workers capped the weathered walls with soil-cement bricks. Finally, the entire structure was sprayed with a silicone preservative to make it moisture resistant. However, the silicone had to be applied annually to assure maximum protection.

The stabilization proceeded smoothly. In June, the preservation team recruited three more persons. Some of them began to work on excavation tasks while the stabilization job continued throughout the ruins. Again, in October, the park laid off the full crew of ten men due to limited funds, however, they had accomplished most of their job.

The winter of 1957-58 was an extremely hard one. Covering Fort Union with eight feet of snow, the cold weather hampered all construction and stabilization projects. As in the previous winter, Cattanach stayed inside his warm residence and contrived various preservation techniques for the next spring. As soon as the snow melted into Wolf Creek, a twelve-man crew started the new working season. In May 1958, the stabilization crew was expanded to 21 persons. Their main objectives were to excavate the buildings and improve the visitor trail through the ruins. By the summer, they had excavated most of the buildings by removing thousands of cubic yards of dirt. Under Cattanach's leadership, the crew did an excellent job on excavation and stabilization. To reward his superb performance at Fort Union, the regional office promoted him to a higher position at Mesa Verde National Monument. In early September, archeologist Rex L. Wilson of Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia came to Fort Union to replace Cattanach. [23] As another winter approached, the park staff could look back on their most successful season.

Under Wilson's direction, excavation and stabilization continued at great speed. All stabilization was undertaken on a priority basis; those walls and features in most urgent need of repair received the earliest attention. Small repair jobs in buildings often followed at a later date. [24] Before the close of 1959, people saw the success, with the realization that the stabilization of the ruins would be completed by the next season. Thereafter, a small maintenance crew could handle the daily routines of preservation. By August 1960, after spending four years and more than $100,000, the Park Service had accomplished the initial emergency stabilization. [25] The program was extended for another fiscal year for wrap-up operations.

Despite success in protecting the ruins, stabilization at Fort Union left a negative impact on the archeological deposits located in the Third Fort area. Because of little information on the archeological deposits and the pressure of time on the project, Cattanach and Wilson allowed the crew to use destructive methods. For example, a bulldozer was used extensively on the exterior of the various structures to clear deposits that had built up against the walls. These efforts, which removed dirt and debris to the wall footings or below them, also removed archeological evidence of the construction or demolition sequences of the various structures. [26]

Although rehabilitation rather than reconstruction of the fort was the substance of a Capitol Hill agreement for the establishment of Fort Union National Monument, the Park Service later modified its position. Along with the construction of supporting facilities on the outskirts of the ruins, a small reconstruction project took place. The park staff believed that if a replica of the flagpole could stand in the center of the parade ground, it would enhance the historical atmosphere of the fort. After a year of research, historian Donald Mawson produced an accurate drawing of the flagstaff. In February 1959, Kueffer Construction Company erected a replicated flagpole in front of the commanding officer's quarters. [27]

Another construction project at the ruins was a visitor trail. Designed by Wing himself, the primitive sand-gravel trail, 2,900 feet long and six feet wide, appeared in April 1957. A year later, workers added 2,500 feet of soil-cement trail. Some parts of the trail were surfaced with emulsified asphalt. In 1959, after spending $11,936, The crews at Fort Union had completed a 4,103-foot trail network. [28]