[2]: 4  "Hoping to protect the garrison from winter northers, Smith tucked the fort into a canyon flanked on three sides by sheer rock walls.

Five of the historic buildings have been refurbished to the 1880s, making it easy for visitors to envision themselves being at the fort at the height of its development.

A memorial at Fort Davis honors the heroism of Indian Emily, the fictional subject of a popular legend.

[6] The actress Jolene Brand portrayed "Indian Emily", who saved the fort from an Apache attack, in the 1959 episode of the same name on the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews.

Emily adopts the white man's ways but flees when a young officer, Tom Easton (Burt Metcalfe), whom she loves prepares to marry another.

She returns to warn the fort of a pending Apache attack but dies of a gunshot wound fired in error.