In February 2010, Grant County, the Gila Conservation Education Center, Cobre Consolidated Schools, and The Wellness Coalition partnered to build the Bataan Memorial Outdoor Classroom near Fort Bayard. The purpose of this project is to provide place-based, hands on outdoor education experiences to children and adults residing in the Central Mining District towns of Bayard, Santa Clara and Hurley. Completed on December 13, 2010, this project will primarily serve the 1,400 students of the Cobre Consolidated School District, although the outdoor classroom will be available to all schools in Grant County and the surrounding area.

From Silver City:
Take HWY 180 east and turn left on Cll de Las Palomas towards Ft. Bayard. The Bataan Memorial Recreation Park is on the left. Park in the parking lot.

From Bayard:
Take HWY 180 west and turn right on Cll de Las Palomas towards Ft. Bayard. The Bataan Memorial Recreation Park is on the left. Park in the parking lot. Follow the signs.

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the 1700s, the landscape around Fort Bayard was home to early American peoples including the Apaches. In 1866 Fort Bayard was established about 10 miles east of Silver City on the eastern slope of the Piños Altos Mountains near the mining communities of Piños Altos and Santa Rita. The Fort played a key role in the Apache Wars (1861-1886) and was established to protect miners, settlers and travelers from Apache attacks. In 1887, the village of Central (now Santa Clara) was established one mile south of Fort Bayard. Bayard Station, located two miles east of Santa Clara, was established in 1902 as a small depot on the Santa Fe railroad; Bayard Station primarily served as a supply terminal for Fort Bayard (www.cityofbayardnm.com/). The village of Hilltop was also established in the early 1900s, but was renamed Hurley in 1910. Located 4 miles south of Bayard Station, Hilltop was a natural mill site because water was readily available (Whitewater Creek), the landscape was gently sloped and there was flat ground nearby for construction of the town. [ hurleynm.com ]