Fort Lewis College began as a fort, then an Indian boarding school

Fort Lewis College in Durango carries a history that is important to understand with care. It began as a U.S. Army post: Fort Lewis was first established near Pagosa Springs in 1878, then moved in 1880 to a site southwest of Durango near present-day Hesperus. After the Army no longer needed the post, the Hesperus site became a federal Indian boarding school.

The boarding-school era is a painful chapter. Across the country, these schools were part of a government effort to force Native children to give up their languages and cultures, and History Colorado has led official research into that history in this state. This note is a pointer to that record, not a retelling of specifics.

When the property later passed to Colorado, it came with a lasting condition: the campus had to remain an educational institution, and Native American students were to attend tuition-free. That obligation followed the school when its campus moved into Durango in the 1950s and became today’s four-year Fort Lewis College, which remains a significant place for Native American higher education.

For anyone living in or moving to the area, this is foundational local history, handled best from official and archival sources.

For the documented history, see History Colorado’s American Indian boarding school research and the Colorado State Archives.