Ft. Bayard was an outpost dating from pre-civil war times.  It was constructed on Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache territory.  After the United States defeated the Native Americans in this area, the military post became a sanatorium for service men with Tuberculosis and the hot springs on the fort grounds were capped to provide power to the hospital.  Remains of the fort and the Apaches still dot the complex and the trail system in place weaves across the acreage through elk preserves and into the Gila National Forest.