Presidio del Norte

The presidio stood on the south bank, at the site of present Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Three Spanish entradas reached La Junta in 1747, but building waited for Capt. Alonso Rubín de Celis, who arrived on December 24, 1759. Set between the pueblos of San Francisco de los Julimes and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, the fort was finished July 22, 1760, and its soldiers fought off an attack that same day. It was moved to Julimes on the Río Conchos in 1766 and was back by 1773. In November 1865 the town took the name of Gov. Manuel Ojinaga.

What the plaque says

Presidio del Norte Proximate site of Presidio del Norte de la Junta established by Captain Alonzo Rubin de Celis in 1759-1760. Name of post retained in part by the present town and county. In this vicinity the missions of San Antonio de los Puliques, San Francisco de Los Julimes, Santa Maria la Redonda, San Pedro Alcantara, El Apostol Santiago, San Cristobal. Were first established in 1683-1684 by Don Juan Dominguez de Mendoza and Padre Fray Nicolas Lopez O. F. M. Maintained by Franciscan missionaries for the Christianizing and the civilizing of the Apache, Natages, Faraones, Puliques, Julimes, Jumanos, Zumas and other Indian tribes. Administered and controlled in 1746 by the custodia of New Mexico, 1836-1936.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Leaton State Historic Site — steps away
  The adobe trading post on the Rio Grande below Presidio, where digging has rewritten the stories told about it and a self-guided walk leads through its rebuilt rooms.

More markers nearby

• Mission del Apostol Santiago — steps away
• Home of Ben Leaton — steps away
• Captain Henry Skillman, C.S.A. — 3.2 mi
• Native Peoples of La Junta de los Rios — 6.3 mi