Fort Yuma

Fort Yuma is a California Historical Landmark in Arizona, Imperial County.

On right bank of Colorado River, opposite present city of Yuma, Arizona · location approximate

Directions to the area ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

As a result of the increased activity of prospectors in Arizona and the rush of forty-niners by way of the Yuma Crossing, Fort Yuma was established in 1850. A previous establishment had been made here in 1849 by Lieutenant Cave J. Couts, who had pitched a camp which he called Fort Calhoun. In November 1850 Major S. P. Heintzelman established a camp below the ferry which he called Camp Independence. A few months later it was moved to the hill and named Fort Yuma. An attack by the Yuma Indians on the fort resulted in its abandonment in June 1851.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1851 · State Of California. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1874 · Arizona (Asher & Adams, 1874) (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
1876 · Sheet No. 3, Department of Arizona (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1877 · New Map Of The Territory Of Arizona, Southern California And Parts Of Nevada, Utah And… (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1879 · Arizona (Rand McNally, 1879) (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)

Arizona (Rand McNally, 1879), 1879, covering the location of Fort Yuma, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Arizona (Rand McNally, 1879), 1879, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

More markers nearby

Hernando de Alarcón Expeditionunder 1 mi
Mission Purísima Concepción (Site of)under 1 mi
Tumco Mines13 mi
Picacho Mines17 mi