Bayard

This older panel dates the town's incorporation to 1925; the city's own records give August 20, 1938. Its population of 3,036 has fallen since, to about 2,500 by the city's latest count. A newer panel about 2 km south replaced its twin and tells the town instead through its depot and the houses moved from Santa Rita. Bayard sits in the foothills of the Gila and Mogollon Mountains, east of the Continental Divide, with the Gila National Forest to the north and grass and yucca desert to the south.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Bayard Population 3,036 - Elevation 6,152 Sites in the surrounding hills indicate that Indians of the Mogollon culture (A.D. 300-1450) lived here long before the Euro- peans. In the late 19th century, this was a stronghold of Apaches led by Victorio and Geronimo. Today Bayard, which was incorpor- ated in 1925, lies in a great com- mercial mining region.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Rita Copper Mine — 5.7 mi
  The copper pit east of Silver City that swallowed the town it was named for, beneath a spire of volcanic rock long said to look like a nun at prayer.
• City of Rocks State Park — 15 mi
  Pinnacles of volcanic tuff up to forty feet high standing in the grassland between Deming and Silver City, worn out of an eruption 34.9 million years ago.

More markers nearby

• Santa Rita Copper Mines — 1.4 mi
• Bayard — 1.5 mi
• Fort Bayard - 1866-1900 / Fort Bayard National Cemetery — 1.6 mi
• Ladies Auxiliary of Local 890 — 3.2 mi