The Story: U.S. Indian Agent Thomas Jeffords governed some 900 Chiricahua Apaches here in 1875-76, under the vigilance of the U.S. Army at Fort Bowie.
Cochise, Chiricahua chieftain and friend of Jeffords, died in 1874, leaving the band divided in leadership and conduct. Some Apaches lingered on the reservation, while others slipped away to plunder Mexican settlements.
In June 1876, the government removed Jeffords and moved 325 Apaches northward to the San Carlos Reservation. However, many escaped and fled to distant sanctuaries to renew hostilities for another decade.
The Building; in 1984, archeologists excavated these remains of a late 19th century adobe building-most notably the Jeffords agency. The building had fireplaces for each of the three rooms and wooden flooring. Bits of adobe plaster and white-washed wood were found inside. The rock shelf in front of the building suggests a porch. Typical buildings of the period had flat roofs covered with brush and earth, and small windows with deep sills. A likely corral behind the building penned agency stock.
To slow the weathering of the newly exposed walls, they've been stabilized with adobe plaster. The ruins are extremely fragile. Please stay off the walls.
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