Fort Verde State Park

Very interesting and wonderful place to visit. The history of the fort was fascinating and educational.

They did a wonderful job recreating life back in the 1880's with many artifacts from that time period.

It was well worth the time and effort to visit.

John had this on his hit list of things to do- we stopped in just in time to see one of the rangers giving a demo on various firearms used in the era that the fort was operational. Insert John's happy face here! They have an extensive museum and an outcropping of buildings that made up the fort. Unlike the other forts we have explored- there was no wall to help with defense. Reasoning was that the natives knew not to attack where the army was. So they didn't bother with the labor intensive work of building high walls.

My only complaint was that the restrooms were far enough away from everything and locked. You had to get a key from the ranger for access.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this park. The volunteer working the front desk was very informative. She spent about twenty minutes giving a history lesson about the historic site. It was nice getting the background filled in before I started the self guided tour of the museum and property.

All of the old buildings were in wonderful shape. Guests are able to walk through each house and see how the military men and their wife's lived. The hallways are open and the rooms are blocked off with a plexiglass type material. There was a button that turned on the lights of each room.

There is no air conditioning in the buildings so I suggest a visit during cooler weather.

This was an Army post during the Indian Wars from 1865-1890. Both cavalry and infantry units were assigned here. Most units were "buffalo soldiers", Black soldiers serving in the post-Civil War Army. Native American "Indian Scouts", serving as guides for the U.S. Army served here as well. Only three of the original buildings remain, the officer's quarters. The parade ground is situated in front of the quarters.

Loads of history that is very accessible. The museum is filled with history. It's not hard to imagine what it was like to live during the time the fort was active.

We decided to take a trip to Camp Verde for the day and have lunch at the Steakhouse and visit the new brewery in town.

The fort Verde Historical State Park, does charge an admission fee to view the inside of the museum and also cross the street to the other side where there are still standing buildings that were used in the late 1880's, as housing for the military, that were stationed there to protect the fort from the Native Americans that would pass through the land on their regular journeys.

We just so happened to be there on a day, where they were hosting an old fashioned "Baseball Game". We got there at the tail end of the game, and lucky for us, we got to meet the legendary Maury Wills of L.A. Dodgers fame.

Pretty interesting day and sight to see!

We stopped here on a whim and had a blast. The two Rangers were so well versed on the area and materials it was great. It's not a "huge" area, but the museum and the three houses they have that you can explore are just amazing.

It might be a little toasty in the summer months since most everything is outside and require walking, but the area is gorgeous and the history is fascinating.

I highly recommend stopping here and walking around!

Hidden little gem just down the road from the casino or up the road from old town.

The fort museum is a little hidden piece of history with period buildings and furnishing from when the fort was built in the 1880's.

The fort housed the army to protect the settlers and miners from native attacks at the time.

There is an entrance fee for the park but it is well worth the historic walk down memory lane. Check out their schedule as they have different re-enactments and events going on at times throughout the year.

Parking is pretty good, two areas available to park at, close by and down the hill.

I had high expectations for this place...and it really disappointed me. It's definitely not worth the $7. I love historical places, but this place was so EMPTY. I'm sure it's good at one of their annual events, but I went on a regular day. There were NO other visitors there. I took my time in the museum, but it's mostly stuff to read, rather than artifacts to look at.
There's three or so historical forts to walk through, but it really doesn't take long, and they're all similar to each other.
I was looking forward to getting to dress to clothes from the time period, because I had read it in a bunch of Yelp reviews, but there were no signs about it or anything. Eventually, I asked an employee about it, and she was able to show me where the clothes were and allow me to put them on. So we got our pictures...but it was a little awkward that I had to ask for it.

Good small museum. Nice period piece room set ups in three remaining buildings. Nice small museum store & helpful docent. A must see.