Established in 1856, Camp Verde was a military post created to suppress Indian attacks on settlers. At Jefferson Davis's suggestion, camels were brought there in an experiment to provide transportation for troops and equipment. Various occupations of the fort during the Civil War interrupted the experiment, which ended when the US Army abandoned the fort in 1869. In 1861, Union soldiers were held prisoner by Confederates at nearby Prison Canyon Ranch, where Gen Robert E. Lee and other notable military leaders also stayed in a cabin during visits to the camp. The Camp Verde Store, built in 1857, served the camp and area residents through the turn of the century, and a new general store and post office built in 1908 remains in use today.

Photo: Cosmos Mariner

Photo: Cosmos Mariner

Center Point, Texas · USA