Camp Wallen

Camp Wallen (1866-1869) - A Post U.S. Civil War Camp established in 1866 near Elgin in Cochise County, Arizona. Named Camp Wallen after Colonel Henry D. Wallen (Cullum 1050) who commanded the Northern Arizona Military District in 1866. Also known as New Post at Babocomari Ranch, New Post on the Upper San Pedro and Fort Wallen. Abandoned in 1869. History Camp Wallen was established on 9 May 1866 by men of the California Column. The Camp was located on the site of a 17th Century Spanish Fort named Fort Gaybanoptea on what was the San Ignacio del Babocomari Ranch. The troops established their camp in an existing compound that had an adobe watchtower located at the southwestern corner. The compound overlooked the Babocomari River from a vantage point on a bluff. The soldiers learned how to fashion adobe bricks from raw materials from a Mexican cattle herder. In a relatively short time, they had made several thousand large, sun-dried bricks ready for building purposes. The men also went into the Huachuca Mountains for the timber required for rafters and lintels. An outbreak of Malaria caused the early abandonment of the Camp on 31 Oct 1869. The reservation was formally transferred to the Interior Department for disposition on 22 Apr 1874. Current Status Unknown. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Elgin, Cochise County, Arizona. Maps & Images Lat: 31.62942 Long: -110.44721 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 4,543' GPS Locations: 31.62942, -110.44721 Camp Wallen See Also: Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 49. Post returns available May 1866 - Oct 1869 at Ancestry.com (by Subscription) Links: North American Forts - Camp Wallen Fortification ID: AZ0287 - Camp Wallen AZ0176 - New Post at Babocomari Ranch AZ0178 - New Post on the Upper San Pedro AZ0288 - Fort Wallen Visited: No