Fort Leaton State Historic Site, 19th century adobe fort in Presidio, United States.

Fort Leaton is a 23.5-acre historic site centered on a large adobe compound with thick walls, about 100 rooms around a central courtyard, near the Rio Grande. It began as a private residence in the 1830s and was adapted as a fortress and trading post after 1848.

Juan Bustillos is believed to have built the adobe residence in the 1830s; Benjamin Leaton bought it in 1848 and ran a trading post and fortress there. When Presidio County was created in 1850, the building became its first seat of government. After Leaton died in 1851, his widow married Edward Hall, who kept the freight business until he defaulted to John Burgess in 1864 and was murdered; Burgess took over and was killed by Leaton's son in 1875. The Burgess family stayed until 1926, and the site opened to the public in 1978.

Benjamin Leaton ran a trading post here on the Chihuahua Trail, and he also traded munitions to Apache and Comanche bands in exchange for stolen cattle they brought him. When Presidio County was established in 1850, the fort became its first seat of government. The adobe rooms later housed the Burgess family until they abandoned the building in 1926.

The fort is open daily from 8 AM to 4:30 PM and can be explored through guided tours or self-guided walks. The displays inside show artifacts and information about frontier life, making it easy to understand what you are seeing.

Benjamin Leaton, who bought the adobe in 1848, was a Chihuahua Trail freighter and scalp bounty hunter; he also traded munitions to Apache and Comanche bands for stolen cattle. His widow married Edward Hall, who ran the freight business until he defaulted to John Burgess in 1864 and was murdered.