Tankersley Lecture and tour

Mark Costa • March 12, 2024

Photos by Carlos Quintero, Outreach, Program Coordinator, The Southwest Center, University of Arizona


The 2024 Bazy Tankersley Southwest Laureate Lecture was presented by two community scholars, Rebecca Orozco and R. Brooks Jeffery. This event included a Friday evening lecture followed by a Saturday site tour of Camp Naco.


The Friday lecture was preceded by a short memorial to honor the life and career of J.C. Mutchler (1961-2023), Associate Research Historian, Southwest Center, University of Arizona. The tribute video is available to view HERE and a video of the lecture is available HERE.


In the footsteps of Bazy Tankersley, J.C. Mutchler’s career was devoted to empowering communities through their understanding of history and sense of place. No project better exemplifies Mutchler’s passion for community-based applied history than Camp Naco. Located in the Cochise County border community of Naco AZ, Camp Naco is a cornerstone of Buffalo Soldier history in Arizona but also represents the multi-layered histories of border protection, mining and railroads, Spanish exploration, as well as the history of indigenous peoples who occupied this region for millennia. Beginning in 2000, community advocates – including Mutchler – began efforts to preserve Camp Naco’s 100+ year-old adobe buildings and 17-acre site when it was under threat of outright demolition. This led to the establishment of the non-profit Naco Heritage Alliance and a 22-year journey of preservation advocacy that resulted in the recent designation of Camp Naco as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

March 22 - Dr. John Langellier Fireplace chat and book signing

By Mark Costa • February 11, 2025
Date: Saturday, March 22, 6 PM Event Address: Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum Join us for a Question & Answer session and book signing with Buffalo Soldier author and military historian John Langellier, Ph.D. In 1881, the first Buffalo Soldiers arrived in Arizona pursuing elusive Apaches. Over the following decades, African Americans from the Tenth U.S. Cavalry and Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Infantry added to the laurels won by the Ninth U.S. Cavalrymen. For more than six decades, Black soldiers served with honor, from campaigns against determined Native Americans to facing dangers along the turbulent border as the Mexican Revolution raged. During the dark days of World War II, they prepared for combat against foes both abroad and at home. All the while, they faced an ever-present, persistent enemy: racism. Author John P. Langellier brings to life the rich history of Buffalo Soldiers in the Copper State.  Registration is required for this event, as there are a limited number of spaces available. Register HERE

Feb 27 - Online lecture with Margaret Hangan

By Mark Costa • February 4, 2025
Register for the lecture HERE

December 18 - Jeremy Fricke Meet and Greet

By Mark Costa • December 4, 2024
Camp Naco Meet and Greet with Executive Director Jeremy Fricke Wednesday, December 18, 4-6pm Meet our first Executive Director Jeremy Fricke (pronounced Frik-ē) in the Bisbee Council Chambers, 915 S. Tovreaville Rd. Informally connect with Jeremy beginning at 4 followed by a project status presentation at 5pm. Light refreshments will be provided.

Nov 9 -Bill Cavaliere Fireplace Chat and Tour

By Mark Costa • October 11, 2024
Camp Naco Fireplace Chat Bill Cavaliere - The Chiricahua Apaches November 9, 2024, 2-4pm Camp Naco, AZ Registration is now closed, capacity has been reached. Bill Cavaliere will present a Q and A on the topic of the Chiricahua Apaches next month. Following the discussion, Becky Orozco will guide a walking tour through historic Camp Naco, likely the last one before construction begins! Bill is the author of The Chiricahua Apaches: A Concise History, an overview of the entire history of this particular tribe of fascinating Native Americans covering their arrival in the southwest, their culture, their notable people, their many conflicts and battles, and where they are today. Their story is one of perseverance and tenacity, of courage and sorrow, and of triumph and tragedy. A fiction writer could not have come up with a more unbelievable story; one filled with action, interesting people, emotion, and uncanny twists of fate. Bill Cavaliere is an independent researcher who retired after 28 years in law enforcement, during which time he was sheriff of Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Prior to this, he was employed with the US Forest Service in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. He is currently president of the Cochise County Historical Society and sits on the board of directors of two other historical societies as well. He is currently working on a biography on Naiche, the last chief of the Chiricahua Apaches.

AZ Humanities Grant

September 27, 2024
AZ Humanities grant Camp Naco and the Naco Heritage Alliance are excited to announce we have been awarded a 2024 Arizona Humanities (AZ Humanities) Grant of $10,000. This AZ Humanities grant will support the development of the Camp Naco Immersive Experience Mobile Application (app) that will amplify and increase accessibility to the multiple, layered historical narratives of Camp Naco. Camp Naco primarily embodies the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers while simultaneously touching on histories associated with the Mexican Revolution, Chiricahua Apaches, and Paleo-Indian peoples. This mobile app will be one platform of a larger interpretive plan implementing adaptive technologies to provide immersive experiences to a greater diversity of audiences. Find out more about AZ Humanities at AZHumanities.org.

Buffalo Soldiers at Bat

By Mark Costa • September 4, 2024
Saturday, September 28, 2pm - Register HERE

Buffalo Soldiers and the Garfield Monument

By Mark Costa • August 9, 2024
Register for this free event by clicking HERE

2024 National Buffalo Soldier Day celebration

By Mark Costa • July 3, 2024
A free event for the whole family! 

Juneteenth 2024

By Mark Costa • May 29, 2024
The Sierra Vista African American Community Coalition presents The 9th Annual Juneteenth Celebration June 19, 10am-4pm - Buena High School, Sierra Vista Camp Naco will be sponsoring this annual celebration featuring fun for the whole family with food, games, flowetry, a black business market, ancestral balloon release, a basketball tournament and the presentation of the Buffalo Soldier Legacy Award by the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers (SWABS). Also featuring music by BWPC and Freddy J. Join us!

Iron Riders Lecture

By Mark Costa • May 24, 2024
Pedaling a New Concept: The US Army Bicycle Corps-America's Rolling "Black Army" Tuesday, May 28, 2024, from 5:30-6:30pm, Free to attend Join us for a fascinating look at a little known military experiment and the brave soldiers who took part. Cochise College instructor Glenn Minuth will share his research at a free event, to be held at the Copper Queen Library. This lecture is a partnership event co-sponsored by the Copper Queen Library, the Naco Heritage Alliance and Camp Naco Project. During the late 1800s, it's no surprise that the widespread popularity of the bicycle attracted the attention of U.S. Army leaders. In 1892 the Army Chief of Staff communicated his interest by approving one regiment to be equipped with bicycles, to obtain all information of military importance surrounding local forts. A young officer organized the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps whose mission was to thoroughly "test the practicality" of the bicycle for military purposes. How did the A. G. Spalding Company play into this experiment? What did each bicycle carry? Training trips of increasing lengths prepared the unit for a major 800-mile expedition. How did they complete their longest expedition 1,900 miles away? And why was an even longer trip to San Francisco from Montana not approved and what did that signal for the Corps future? Presenter Glenn Minuth was a (35-year) Department of Defense civil servant who retired at Fort Huachuca. His bachelors and graduate degrees are in geography with emphasis in cartography, geomorphology, remote sensing, and geology. He is also a graduate of the Army Management Staff College. He has been an instructor for 30 plus years at Cochise College, AZ in both credit and non-credit programs and leads field trips and lectures in the areas of: geology, geography, earth science, astronomy, ecology, weather/climate, agriculture, and military history.
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