Collections

 

Legirons like these were used with particularly difficult prisoners. The Fort Union prison, which incarcerated deserters, incorrigible soldiers, spies and sundry outlaws, was a busy place.

Fort Union National Monument

When the Army closed Fort Union in 1891, the troops marched out and boarded trains to other destinations. When the National Park Service took over the newly established national monument in the mid-1950s, the agency found many objects left behind in the fort buildings.

There is not enough room in the visitor center museum to display many of the items, and many of them are in poor condition, having been neglected for decades.Some of the finest objects are on display in the monument visitor center.

The Monument is in the process of developing new exhibits for the visitor center museum, and the new exhibits are currently scheduled to open in late 2022.

 

It is easy to forget that children lived at Fort Union. Bits and pieces of toys, like these porcelain doll parts, are a reminder that family life had a place at the military outpost.

Fort Union National Monument

A large part of the collection, as might be expected, is military in nature--ammunition, tools, leather gear. But there are many items that reflect other facets of the soldier's life--bottles, toothbrushes, medical equipment.