Bayard is in Grant County, and in the Southwest New Mexico region. You can find Bayard located just southeast of Silver City on US Hwy 180.
Fort Bayard started in 1866 when Company B of the 125th U.S. Colored Infantry under the command of Lieutenant James Kerr established a base camp near the gold and silver mining communities of Pinos Altos and Silver City, New Mexico. This site commanded Apache war trails from their lands near the present Faywood Hot Springs to a number of mining areas. According to Lieutenant Kerr, it was ". . . a beautiful situation on the eastern slope of the Pinos Altos Mountains," with abundant wood, water, and forage.