Camp Lowell 1866-1873

Before the fort on the Rillito, there was a camp downtown. The U.S. Army established Camp Lowell here in 1866, a cluster of tents with an adobe kitchen and a rented building for a hospital, to supply its posts south of the Gila and to press the campaigns against the Apache. Tucson's merchants welcomed the money the soldiers brought as much as the military presence. In 1873 the army moved the post northeast to the Rillito, chasing cleaner water and distance from the town's saloons, and Camp Lowell became Fort Lowell.

What the plaque says

Camp Lowell was established at this location in 1866 by the U.S. Army in recognition of the strategic military importance of Tucson. The local populace was fearful of Apaches, and the camp provided military protection as well as bringing financial benefits to the residents of Tucson. The two principal purposes of this military installation were to supply other army outposts south of the Gila River and to protect the citizens of the southern Arizona territory. Camp Lowell consisted primarily of tents. A poorly built adobe structure functioned as a kitchen, and a rented building in town served as the hospital.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tucson — 0.5 mi
  The Old Pueblo — four thousand years of farming under the sky islands
• Mission San Xavier del Bac — 8.0 mi
  The White Dove of the Desert — the finest Spanish Baroque church in the country
• Saguaro National Park — 21 mi
  The giant cactus, and the O'odham who count it as kin

More markers nearby

• Carlos Ygnacio Velasco House — 0.3 mi
• August 20th Park — 0.3 mi
• Coronado Hotel — 0.4 mi
• Carrillo Intermediate School — 0.4 mi