Rear Bastion

NPS employees apply adobe render to the exterior of the rear bastion tower.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Tactile Exhibit

". . . when I gazed on Bent’s fort, the buildings seemed completely metamorphosed; new towers had been erected, the walls heightened, and, as I then thought, everything put in readiness to resist an attack of the New Mexicans."

Lieutenant J.W. Abert, July 30th, 1846.  

This rear tower reflects the moved tower, constructed in 1845-46 in advance of the US-Mexican War. Archeological work was able to uncover the arc of a wall, still well marked on the inner edge by scorched discolorations. The diameter of this tower was measured at 20.85 ft.

A fire-blackened adobe floor was uncovered here, along with the charred remains of a wagon bed. A large stone, similar to one uncovered in the northeast bastion, may have been support for a heavy post.