World War I Bases

World War I Bases In 1917, the U.S. got involved in World War One. As a result there was a large build up of bases.

Fort McPherson; Atlanta, GA.Version World War 2.0
05/27/2026

Fort McPherson; Atlanta, GA.

Version World War 2.0

Fort McPherson; Atlanta, GA.(General Hospital No. 6)+Camp Jesup.Version World War 1.0Fort McPherson was a permanent post...
05/27/2026

Fort McPherson; Atlanta, GA.
(General Hospital No. 6)
+
Camp Jesup.

Version World War 1.0

Fort McPherson was a permanent post, located 4 miles southeast of Atlanta. Named in honor of Maj. Gen. James Birdseye McPherson, U. S. V. (Brig. Gen. U. S. A.), who was killed in action before Atlanta, 1864.

The original reservation was established in 1867, then abandoned in 1881. But it came back to life when it was acquired by purchase, 1885-86. Temporarily under Medical Department, 1917-19. General Hospital No.6: Designated general hospital, Nov. 29, 1917. Used primarily for treatment of general medical and surgical cases. It also served as a medical school for scientific and military training.

Besides being a hospital, FM was also one of the very few prisoner of war camps found in the U.S. during WWI. This place primarily housed captured German submarine sailors. The prison was Established on May 3, 1917, for prisoners of war and enemy civilian aliens; the latter were eventually sent to another part of Georgia, called Fort Oglethorpe.

According to a 1916 document FM cost $1,075,488.13. In 2026 $ that would be worth $32,858,629. During WWI McPherson occupied about 370 acres. At closing time in 2011, there was 487 acres; some of which were acquired from
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Camp Jessup; Atlanta, GA.

It was directly south and adjacent to FM. The camp was named in honor of Brig. Gen. Thomas Sidney Jesup, U. S. A., appointed Quartermaster General of the Army, 1818. CJ was authorized for organization and training of mechanical repair-shop units of the Quartermaster Corps, which in Aug. 1918 were absorbed by the Motor Transport Corps. It was under construction Jan.-Apr. 1918.

CJ was eventually absorbed by Fort McPherson. The cost of construction to June 30, 1919-About $1,237,252. In 2026 $ that would be worth $23,816,743. The area was about 136 acres. Today, the Tyler Perry Studios occupies this former site.

There is a historic section of FM still intact. But satellite photos shows that it's being overwhelmed by vegetation. Hopefully, the area will be saved.

Here's the list to end all lists for Army posts around during WWI. This was broken down into different parts from a map ...
05/08/2026

Here's the list to end all lists for Army posts around during WWI. This was broken down into different parts from a map published during the Great War.

Some of these bases were short lived, and were not used past 1919.

05/07/2026

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Camp Grant, IL.Version World War 1.0CG was one of 16 National Army cantonments that would train young men for first worl...
05/02/2026

Camp Grant, IL.

Version World War 1.0

CG was one of 16 National Army cantonments that would train young men for first world war out of eleven. It was located 4 miles south of Rockford, in Winnebago County, and named in honor of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, U. S. A.,Commander-in-Chief, U. S. A., 1864-69, and President of the United States, 1869-77.

This camp was first established on July 18, 1917, to serve as training camp for 86th Div. (National Army), which occupied the cantonment. August 1917-August 1918.

The construction started here on June 24, 1917, and continued through 1918. The first draftees reported for duty on September 1-15, 1917, while the last, December 1-15, 1918.

CG was classified as infantry replacement and training camp, April 1918 and as a demobilization center, December 3, 1918. After Armistice it was retained as permanent reservation. That was typical for N.A. cantonments as opposed to National Guard camps; many of which never saw any action for the second world war out of eleven.

While Camp Grant was retained, a lot of the buildings were razed after the Great War; only for the place to be totally rebuilt for WWII, and torn down again. (Your taxdollars at work.)

Also, during WWII, Camp Grant served a much smaller role, and was not even in the top 50 of training camps in terms of size. Quite a contrast from WWI, where it was one of the largest facilities!

During the first world war, there was a cantonment of 1,515 buildings with a troop capacity of 42,819, enough to rival the nearby town of Rockford.

In 1919 $, the construction costs were about $14,000,000. In 2026 $ that would be worth $267,224,393.

In contrast, much less was spent during WWII to rebuild it. In 1945 $, it cost Uncle Sam $10,003,656. In 2026 $ that would be worth $183,518,737, or about 2/3 the cost of WWI.

The size of the cantonment site proper was 1600 acres; entire reservation, 5,665 acres; including shooting ranges. But, during WWII it was only 3,338 acres.

Many of the former National Army cantonment sites saw plenty of post WWII use; some of which are still active today, and have advanced in rank to achieve permanent fort status. But, there was no Fort Grant or Fort Ellis. As a matter of fact, other than Fort Sheridan, there were not any post WWII forts in Illinois. Finally, FS was on the list for the very first BRAC round of 1988, and closed in the 1990s.

Today the former site for Camp Grant is the airport for Rockford. That's ironic, because its usually growing cities infested with NIMBYs that gobble up airports, and make them disappear. In fact, Camp Grant would have been large enough to be in the top five Illinois cities at the time. But instead, an airport displaced this former Army city.

However, there was an occasional plane that few in and out of the parade grounds; well before any runways were ever added. But, there were no aero squadrons attached here, so the flights would have been inconsistent, and not a regular thing.

While there are no surviving WWI buildings, a few WWII buildings do remain east of the airport. As of yet, it is unknown if Camp Grant will be used for World War Eleven, or where the buildings will be located.

Fort Bayard, NM. It was one of many frontier forts that the Army constructed in the 1800s; with this one being built in ...
04/22/2026

Fort Bayard, NM.

It was one of many frontier forts that the Army constructed in the 1800s; with this one being built in 1866. Some like Fort Riley, KS and Fort Sill, OK are still active facilities, and of course saw plenty of use during WWI. But unlike numerous other former frontier forts, FB would not be used by the Army after 1919.

It was originally constructed as a permanent post, and was located 9 miles from Silver Springs. The fort was named in honor of Brig. Gen. George D. Bayard, U. S. V. (Capt. 4th Cav.), who was mortally wounded in battle during Civil War.

Fort Bayard was discontinued as a garrison post, and turned over to the Army medical department for general hospital purposes in 1900. It then became known as United States Army General Hospital, Fort Bayard. It assumed this title at the close of the War with Spain, and was used primarily for treatment of Army personnel suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis.

The fort was expanded during World War One to accommodate three times the number of peace-time patients. Then, it was turned over to United States Public Health Service in 1920. They were a precursor to what's now known as the Veterans Administration.

The costs of construction and alterations of Fort Bayard up to June 30, 1919 was about $630,000. In 2026 $ that would be worth $12,025,098.

There was a valiant effort to preserve Fort Bayard. But unfortunately, the state of New Mexico simply didn't care. The legislation stated that the federal government and New Mexico would need to "cooperate" on preservation. But the so called Land of Enchantment had no interest in enhancement.

With all the oil revenue NM has, how can they not afford to preserve their history? It also seems that tourism is a really low priority for them. Just a few weeks after this place was visited in December 2019, it was one of the most severely locked down states during the pandemic!

There are neighboring states that preserved their former forts like Fort Lyon, CO, Fort Douglas, UT, and Fort Apache, AZ. But, New Mexico simply couldn't be bothered.

I must wonder couldn't this place have become a resort? A corporate retreat? An satellite campus for Western New Mexico University? A National Park? etc. Instead, this place saw the wrecking ball. Sad.

Luckily, this place was visited in December 2019, and some pics were taken. So we'll start off with those, and then finish with vintage black and white pics.

Fort Missoula, MT.Version World War 1.0FM was established as a permanent post, located on right bank of Bitter Root Rive...
03/31/2026

Fort Missoula, MT.

Version World War 1.0

FM was established as a permanent post, located on right bank of Bitter Root River, 4 miles southwest of Missoula. It was named in 1877. Besides, Fort Missoula, Montana also had two other interior forts; Harrison which is now owned by the Montana National Guard, and Keogh (WW1 only) is an USDA station.

The original reservation was set apart from public domain and post established 1877. The Area of the post proper was 1,520 acres. But overall, there were 3,417 acres under Army ownership. During WWII, it more than doubled to 7,390 acres. But this also includes off site training ranges.

Missoula started off as a territorial pioneer fort, and was established before Montana became a state in 1889. During WWI, it was used as an Army mechanic's training school along with other vocational trades. In addition, the University of Montana made use of a few buildings to train some students for military service. During the war, visitors were discouraged. Therefore, only a small number of pics were actually taken during The Great War.

Many of the pics featured on this post range from the late 1800s to the 30s when there was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp site set up here. During WWII, this place had a huge buildup as an INS detention center for German and Italian civilians. (POWs were typically sent to remote ag areas to supply farm labor, or would be embedded within large secure bases.)

In 1916 $, it cost $594,455.41 for land and construction costs. In 2026 $ that would be worth $17,821,937. (That's even cheaper than some fighter jets.)

Fort Missoula was visited in August 2017 and a large amount of it has remained intact. The really old wooden buildings, some of which were from the pioneer days, succumbed to the ravages of time and decay. There is a museum on site. One can enjoy a walking tour and see this place through several different eras from the pioneer times, WW1, the CCC era, WW2, and modern times.

Missoula is also home to the University of Montana. So there are plenty of cultural amenities here. This town would be worthy of a visit along with Fort Missoula of course.

Fort Screven; Tybee Island, GA.Version World War 1.0It was a permanent post, located about 18 miles southeast of Savanna...
03/29/2026

Fort Screven; Tybee Island, GA.

Version World War 1.0

It was a permanent post, located about 18 miles southeast of Savannah, on Tybee Island, Chatham County. FS was named in honor of Brig. Gen. James Screven, Georgia Militia, who was killed in action, 1778.

This place was acquired by purchase, 1875; established, 1898. Headquarters and station of the Coast Defenses of Savannah (South Atlantic Coast Artillery District). The other fort that was part of SACAD was Fort Fremont, SC.

Screven occupied about 300 acres. It's unknown what was spent on upgrades or maintenance for Screven by itself. However, combined with Fremont, it came out to about $157,000 in 1919 $. In 2026 $ that would be worth $2,965,621.

After the Great War, most of the batteries were removed as part of some disarmament agreement and for salvage purposes. During WWI, there were no shots fired on the states, so the harbor defense posts were considered obsolete. Also, this place was used as the only Army diver and salvage training school during WWII. So it was a property that wasn't always used for its original purpose.

Unfortunately, the people of this area lacked the foresight to have some historical preservation for all the batteries. One in particular is Battery Gantt. The planning commission in its infinite wisdom allowed a condo to be built on top of it.

BG is now an eyesore. It reminds me of how the once beautiful and historic Soldier Field in Chicago was desecrated. Now it looks like it's being violated by an UFO. (When the Bears leave for Indiana, they should turn out the lights and put it out of its misery.)

Nonetheless, Fort Screven is a historic place in a nice serene coastal area. But ultimately it's not what it could have been. (Perhaps, I'm spoiled on the very well preserved coastal batteries of the Pacific Northwest.)

Fort Screven would still be worth seeing along with the incredibly eclectic and historic Savannah; which was on my bucket list. This place was visited in November 2017.

March Field: Riverside, CA.Version World War 1.0Since recently passed away, March will be featured because he was once...
03/26/2026

March Field: Riverside, CA.

Version World War 1.0

Since recently passed away, March will be featured because he was once stationed here as a MP. Thank you for your service, and Rest in Peace.

Anyhow MF was originally known as Alessandro Field. It was constructed as a permanent flying field, located in Riverside County, about 10 miles southeast of Riverside. This historic field was named in honor of 1st Lt. Peyton C. March, who died Feb. 13, 1918, as a result of an aviation accident at Taliaferro Field; Fort Worth, TX.

Construction started here on Mar. 23, 1918, then flying began, June 15, 1918. March was acquired by purchase, 1919, having been leased prior thereto. It served as a Primary Flying School with an 8-week course. There was a student capacity for 300 cadets.

March started off with 640 acres or one square mile before eventually hitting its peak of almost 6,600 acres before being "realigned" in 1996 and shedding about 4,400 "excess acres".

Many WWI fields didn't survive to see any kind of aviation reuse whatsoever after 1919, when the vast majority of Army properties were disposed of. But March managed to linger until 1922. It was dormant and came back to life in 1927. During the interwar years a lot of permanent buildings were constructed.

Though this may be a WWI site, interwar construction is featured because this shows what a base looked like before the massive WWII boom. It shows a relatively sleepy and peaceful time.

The construction costs to June 30, 1919-$894,071, plus the cost of real estate was $64,000 for a grand total $658,071. In 2026 $ that would be worth $12,430,505. Of course over the decades to follow more land was acquired and more buildings were constructed.

March may have been significantly downsized almost 80 years later. But it still has an military presence as March Air Reserve Base. Besides the Air Force, there are other branches with reserve and guard units present. With a 13,300 foot runway, it is one of the longest ones in California. But instead of Jenny's we now have jets.

Finally, March does have a great museum worth checking out. Besides plenty of aircraft from different eras, this base's World War One history is featured. In fact, some of the pics published on here came from the museum.

March Field; Riverside, CA.Version World War 2.0Stay tuned for Version World War 1.0 to be published exclusively on here...
03/24/2026

March Field; Riverside, CA.

Version World War 2.0

Stay tuned for Version World War 1.0 to be published exclusively on here.

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