Fort Tuthill Historic District

National Guard camp in the pines

Fort Tuthill sits four miles south of Flagstaff in ponderosa forest at about 7,000 feet, off AZ-89A near the I-17 interchange. The National Register district (listed 2004) covers about 109 acres of what was built as a permanent summer training camp for the Arizona National Guard. The nomination period of significance is 1930–1948. Today the same ground is Fort Tuthill County Park, run by Coconino County Parks and Recreation — not an active military post.

The site was planned as a complete training plant in one yearlong construction push. Phoenix architects Lescher & Mahoney designed the utilitarian brick buildings; contractors put up mess halls, latrines, a guardhouse, infirmary, headquarters, garage/storehouse, water tower, and a firing range. Enlisted men slept in tent frames on wood or concrete floors rather than permanent barracks, which kept cost down and preserved a field-camp character. Water came by pipeline from a San Francisco Peaks spring into a large reservoir system. The main buildings form a square around the old headquarters, with the tall warehouse the most visible mass on the quadrangle.

Why it was listed

The nomination argues statewide military significance: Fort Tuthill was the Guard’s dedicated summer facility from 1930 into the mid-1950s, replacing ad-hoc use of Fort Huachuca and other sites. Northern Arizona’s cooler summers were the point — southern training heat could be extreme, and Flagstaff’s elevation made multi-week encampments workable. The camp is named for Alexander Oswald Brodie (via General Alexander M. Tuthill connections in Guard history as presented in the nomination’s military context); the form emphasizes Criterion A association with National Guard training, not high-style architecture. Brick mess halls, painted white, with medium-pitch gables and simple massing, are the district’s signature fabric.

After World War II the post went quiet. Attempts to reinterest the Armed Services failed; the site was too small for modern force structure. In 1955 the state transferred it to Coconino County as a park and recreation area. Mess halls became exhibit buildings, the infirmary became park offices, and the parade ground eventually hosted a horse track and fairground functions. Some historic openings were filled, exteriors sheathed, and modern festival infrastructure added inside the quadrangle; a 2001 master plan and Heritage Fund work began restoring original fort buildings.

What you can visit

County park hours are listed as 6 a.m.–10 p.m. daily; office hours Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Address: 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop. The park combines the historic core with camping (RV and tent), group areas, disc golf, archery, and event use including the Coconino County Fair. Day-use and camping fees are set by the county — check the current park and campground pages before you go; do not assume free entry during special events. The historic mess-hall row and warehouse remain readable as a military compound even with later fairground overlay.

This is public county land with ordinary park rules. Stay out of closed buildings; treat residual military and event infrastructure as off-limits unless signed open. Snow and mud can close secondary roads in winter; summer monsoon and fire restrictions apply to the broader Flagstaff forest belt. The San Francisco Peaks form the northern skyline through the pines — the same view that sold Guard leadership on the site in the late 1920s.