Event Details

Join us for a special Lincoln Lecture Series during Old Lincoln Days. Two speakers will share about fascinating topics in the iconic San Juan Bautista Church. Learn about New Mexico’s rich history at these engaging events. This month’s program is by lecturer Charles M. Haecker who will present an "Archaeological Investigation of Mescalero Apache Encampment Sites within the Fort Stanton Military Reservation."

In 2004 NPS Archaeologist Charles Haecker conducted a sample survey of the FSMR in partnership with the BLM-Roswell Area Office. This survey identified various activity areas and features associated with Fort Stanton’s history as a military post, tubercular hospital, and the site of a World War II German POW camp. Also discovered are five Mescalero Apache encampment sites located in close proximity to the fort. Artifacts recovered from these sites indicate they were occupied between circa 1855-1885. The relative abundance and wide variety of these Euromerican artifacts are indicants of the peaceful relationship that existed between Fort Stanton’s occupants and those Mescalero bands that chose to live nearby. This paper will focus on these artifact types, and how some of these Euromerican objects were modified to meet the traditional needs of the Mescalero Apaches.

Charles M. Haecker is a historic archaeologist who retired from the National Park Service in 2016. During his 23 years with NPS, Charles performed the duties of Program Archaeologist-Heritage Partnerships Program/Intermountain Region. As a specialist in historic archaeology with an emphasis on military-related sites, Charles has conducted, or has participated in, 36 metal detection survey projects, including: Sites associated with the 1540-1542 Vázquez de Coronado expedition; French-and-Indian War and Revolutionary War battlefields and encampments; 17th and 18th centuries Spanish-Colonial sites; U.S.-Mexican War, Civil War, and Indian Wars battlefields and encampments; Apache and Plains Indian habitation sites; an 1803 Tlingit fortification in Alaska; and survey of segments of the Camino Real and Santa Fe Trail. Charles also conducts analyses of historic artifacts, with a specialization in military-related artifacts, and historic period Native American artifacts. Since 2015 Charles has been an instructor with Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist.

Lincoln Lecture Series is included with admission of $7/adults and free to children 16 years and younger.