Because of its unique location on the high ground overlooking the Colorado River, the Yuma Quartermaster Depot provided the lifelines to the military posts in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas and New Mexico from 1864 to 1883. The U.S. Army's warehouses kept a six-month supply of food, clothing, ammunition and all other goods for the soldiers stationed in the forts.

The goods were first brought by ocean vessels to the Gulf of California. From there, they were loaded onto river steamboats and sent up the Colorado River to Yuma, and from there shipped farther or upriver or overland, by the 20-mule wagon teams - a part of Western lore. After the closing in 1883, the site continued to serve as a telegraph and weather station, a customs office, and even as the home of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Address: 201 N. 4th Avenue,Yuma, AZ 85364, Phone: 928-329-0471

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