Groundbreaking News!
On January 30, 2025, the Naco Heritage Alliance (NHA) reached a critical milestone. Working with our partner Durazo Construction Corporation we took the plunge and broke ground, formally beginning Phase One of the rehabilitation of Camp Naco. Find out more about the event HERE
Jeremy Fricke Named Camp Naco's First
Executive Director
The Naco Heritage Alliance is excited to welcome
Jeremy Fricke as the organization's first Executive
Director! He will oversee the Camp Naco project in partnership with the City of Bisbee.
The mission of the Naco Heritage Alliance is to reveal the hidden stories of human experience in the Borderlands by engaging communities, preserving the past, and educating the world
as stewards of Camp Naco.
Discover the History
With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, commanders at Fort Huachuca established tent camp at the point where the El Paso and Southwestern railroad line crossed the border into Mexico, at Naco, Arizona. It was initially manned by the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and later the 25th Infantry, collectively known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Its mission was to protect the railroad, prevent smuggling, and maintain the peace.
In 1919 a permanent camp, named Camp Naco, was constructed by the US War Department’s Mexican Border Defense Construction Project, a response to unsettled conditions along the US/Mexico border. Part of a 1,200-mile chain of thirty-five permanent military camps, Camp Naco was one of only two constructed of adobe. When the camps were decommissioned in 1923, most were deconstructed so that their materials could be used elsewhere, but Camp Naco, built of adobe, remained in place. As a result, it remains the only camp to retain its historic integrity today.
Naco Heritage Alliance
Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of archaeologists, military historians, Buffalo Soldiers and local citizens, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, the Naco Heritage Alliance, was created to preserve Camp Naco. Because of their work, Camp Naco was purchased by the City of Bisbee in 2018, and four years later was named one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Places, bringing national attention to the need to save the site. That same year an award-winning Story Map created by a team led by The University of Arizona students highlighted the rich history of the Camp, illuminating the important role of the Buffalo Soldiers as effective peacekeepers within the segregated military of the period. Combined, these milestones paved the way for substantial grant funding in 2022 from both the Mellon Foundation and the State of Arizona to rehabilitate Camp Naco.
In 2023, the City of Bisbee initiated hiring a team of specialists to begin rehabilitation efforts and to pave the way for a lasting Naco Heritage Alliance to guide the process. Through a series of stakeholder meetings and events, we are reaching out to the local community, as well as those groups who will benefit from the rehabilitation, to explore a wide range of future uses for Camp Naco, both historical and contemporary.
The Naco Heritage Alliance respectfully acknowledges that Camp Naco resides on the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples, including the Sobaipuri and Chiricahua Apache. We, as an organization, are committed to building sustainable relationships with the affiliated descendant tribes of the Camp Naco site through educational and community outreach programming to ensure their history is honored and not forgotten.
Thursday, April 23rd, 5:30 PM Free Online Event, Register Here We’re honored to invite you to a special upcoming program with Jeff Haozous, co-founder of Ndé Bikéeyá, the Chiricahua Apache Land Trust. In this virtual talk, Apaches and Earth Mother , Jeff will explore how the Chiricahua Apache people have expressed their deep connection to the natural world through language, stories, and culture. His work—both as a leader and as someone living in the Cochise Stronghold—offers powerful insight into the enduring relationship between people and place in the borderlands.
Thursdays, April 16th, April 30th, & May 14th, 6:00 PM Goar Park Lunches, 89 Main Street, Bisbee Free to Attend (Donations welcome and benefit Naco Heritage Alliance and Goar Park Lunches) - Register Here This April, Camp Naco Fellow Marilyn Noble brings Endangered Foods of the Borderlands to life—a three-part series exploring the deep histories behind everyday foods of the region. Through tastings and conversation, Marilyn draws on her work as a journalist, author, and food writer to connect dishes like chiltepín, empanadas, and masa to the people and stories of the borderlands. It’s part history, part storytelling, and part shared table. As part of her Naco Heritage Alliance Fellowship, and working in partnership with Goar Park Lunches, Marilyn is uncovering overlooked narratives of this region, and this series offers a delicious entry point into that larger exploration—one rooted in community, memory, and resilience. 🌶️ April 16th - The Chiltepin: The Hot Mother of All Chiles 🥟 April 30th - From Cornish Pasties to Mexican Empanadas: Hand-held Meals for Miners 🌽 May 14th - Masa: From Dried Corn to Tortillas, the Secrets to Making Nixtamal Come learn, discuss, and taste! Register here for one session, or all three!
Friday, April 10, 2026 2118 West Newell Street, Naco Free to attend, Registration Required Take a walk through history at Camp Naco. Join us for a guided tour exploring the site, the story of the Buffalo Soldiers, and the ongoing work to preserve this historic place. Register here to reserve your space today!
Thursday, February 12, 5-6:00 PM MST Online and Free to Attend Register at this link. During the era of the Mexican Revolution, many African Americans traveled and lived in Mexico. Join Naco Heritage Alliance with special guest Dr. Laura Hooton as she provides a glimpse into the experiences of some of these men and women, including activists, businessmen, soldiers, writers, athletes, and travelers. About The Speaker Dr. Laura Hooton is an Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the History Department at New Mexico State University. She teaches and writes about African American history, borderlands history, migration and immigration, and social movements and civil rights. She is the co-author of Almost All Aliens: Immigration, Race, and Colonialism in American History and Identity , Second Edition. Her next book, Little Liberia: A Dream of Black Freedom in the US-Mexico Borderlands , will be published this year.
January 16, 23, & 30, 2-3:30 PM Copper Queen Library - 6 Main Street, Bisbee Free to attend In partnership with Copper Queen Library, Naco Heritage Alliance is excited to present this free, three-part educational series on the history of the Borderlands with Becky Orozco, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Cochise College. Attend all three events, or one or two that suit your interests. January 16 - The Archaeology of Cochise County For more than 10,000 years people have called this region home. Learn about the prehistoric residents of our region from the earliest residents who hunted now extinct mammoths through the first indigenous peoples who encountered explorers from Spain and the United States. January 23 - La Frontera: A History of Our Border Region Cochise County has always been a borderlands. From prehistoric times the mountains and valleys of the sky islands have been corridors for explorations and conquest. The first Spanish explorers traveled these pathways in the 16th Century. Mexico's battles for independence and then in revolution often focused on this northern frontier. The westward push for gold and Manifest Destiny established the current line. Learn how these stories still resonate and shape today's borderline. January 30 - A History of Conflict: Camp Naco, the Bisbee Deportation and World War I Our small section of the US-Mexico border has been the focus of major military and civil conflicts in the early 20th Century. Learn how the stories of these people and events intertwined in this small region of Cochise County and how work continues int he present to preserve this history.
Friday, December 19th, 4:00 - 7:00PM Boys & Girls Club of Bisbee - 405 Arizona Street, Bisbee, AZ Free to attend with registration, $35 Custom Gingerbread Barracks Kit available while supplies last. Register to attend and/or reserve your gingerbread kit at https://givebutter.com/adobe-gingerbread. Join us for Adobe & Gingerbread, a family-friendly evening that blends tradition, creativity, and a little bit of borderlands flavor. Enjoy a special presentation on traditional adobe building by Zach Palma of Sky Island Alliance, tasty food from Goar Park Lunches, and plenty of hands-on holiday fun. Custom Camp Naco–inspired gingerbread barracks kits will be available for purchase, and the event is free with reservation. Come learn something new, build something sweet, and kick off the holidays with our community!
