A young Douglas Mac Arthur called the fort home while his father was post commander in the late 1880s. Several of the units stationed at the fort were black troopers, referred to as Buffalo Soldiers. Infantry and Cavalry, the intent was to protect settlers and travelers in the Mesilla Valley from desperados and Apache Indians. The fort was established in an effort to bring peace to the south central region of present day New Mexico. Built in 1865 by troops from Albuquerque, the entire post was constructed of adobe with the exception of the Administration Building. The most popular site to visit is Fort Selden State Monument. From about mid-March to mid-October the park is also a venue for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking in the Rio Grande. Leasburg Dam State Park offers year-round camping, picnicking, and bird watching. Constructed in 1908, it is one of the oldest diversion dams in New Mexico which was constructed not to hold back the flow of the Rio Grande river, but to instead divert it into a system of canals for use by nearby farms. It flourished for almost 50 years, then fell from favor, and was even once used as a women's prison and also an art center.Īnother unique feature of Radium Springs is the Leasburg Dam. It attracted many people who felt the water was beneficial for arthritis, nerve problems and many other diseases. It was when the post office was established, that a mineral analysis of the water was performed and showed enough "millimicrocuries" of radium per liter of water that the town could use the word "radium" in its name! In the 1920s the Radium Springs Resort Hotel was built with bathhouses connected to the wells. The community owes its name to the free-slowing mineral hot springs that were often frequented by soldiers from nearby Fort Selden. The small town of Radium Springs is located on NM 185 west of the Rio Grande and across from Fort Selden State Monument and the ruins of a 19th-century army outpost Fort Selden.
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