Fort Thomas (2)

 (1876-1892) - A U.S. Army Fort established in 1876 near present day Town of Fort Thomas, Graham County, Arizona. Named Fort Thomas after Brigadier General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General, who died on 2 Mar 1875. Abandoned in 1892. Also known as New Post on the Gila and Camp Thomas (2).

History of Fort Thomas
First established by Captain Clarence M. Bailey, 8th U.S. Infantry, on 12 Aug 1876. Initially located on the site of the present day town of Geronimo, Graham County, Arizona. The site was selected by then Colonel August V. Kautz, 8th U.S. Infantry as a replacement for nearby Fort Goodwin. The mission of the garrison was to remove the Chiricahua Apaches to the San Carlos Reservation.

The new post was first named New Post on the Gila and then on 18 Sep 1876 as Camp Thomas. In 1878 the post was moved to the site of the present day Town of Fort Thomas still as Camp Thomas (2). In February 1882 the post was designated Fort Thomas. It became a sub-post of Fort Grant (2) in 1890 and was ordered closed on 10 Apr 1891.

Although the post was ordered closed on 10 Apr 1891, it remained garrisoned until May 1892. It was transferred to the Interior Department on 3 Dec 1892 for disposal. The town of Fort Thomas adjacent to the post was said to be filled with brothels and saloons and had a bad reputation.

Current Status
The site of the first Camp Thomas is identified by a marker near the intersection of Black Lane and Hwy 70 near the ghost town of Geronimo, A marker titled "Geronimo" describes the first camp location. The second site is reportedly plowed over across the highway from the Fort Thomas High School. Reportedly some of the post buildings still survive in private hands.

See Also:
 * Fort Grant
 * Fort Goodwin

Sources:
 * , page 47.
 * , page 16.
 * , page 12-Continued.

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Thomas
 * Legends of America - Fort Thomas
 * Wikipedia - Fort Thomas