Round Mountain

The fiesta the panel mentions keeps a promise. Tularosa's settlers had carried a figure of San Francisco de Paula from Mesilla in 1862, and before the fight at Round Mountain in April 1868 they vowed to build him a church if they won. They began it that year with more than 50,000 adobes and heard the first Mass in May 1869. Settlers had called the hill Dead Man's Hill for herders killed near it. Peace with the Mescalero was signed that May, and the parish fiesta each spring still honors the vow.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Round Mountain This cone-shaped mountain is a landmark in southern New Mexico that has historic significance for many area families. In April 1868 a skirmish occurred between the Apache and Tularosa settlers when six U.S. soldiers left supply wagons between Fort Stanton and Fort Seldon. The besieged travelers took refuge on Round Mountain. Each spring a fiesta is held in Tularosa to commemorate this battle.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Three Rivers Petroglyph Site — 15 mi
  More than 21,000 petroglyphs on a basalt ridge above the Tularosa Basin, one of the few places in the Southwest set aside for its rock art alone, walked on a rough half-mile trail.

More markers nearby

• Blazer's Mill — 3.1 mi
• Tularosa — 9.7 mi
• Sierra Blanca — 13 mi
• La Luz — 13 mi