Archives West Finding Aid

Fort Douglas began during the second year of the Civil War. Originally ordered to set up a military base at Camp Floyd in Utah County, Colonel Patrick Connor decided to locate his men on the east side of Salt Lake City on a plateau. Calling the new base Camp Douglas (after the late 1860 Presidential canidate Stephen A. Douglas), Connor's orders had been to simply defend the transcontinental telegraph line and mail routes. Connor also engaged in other pursuits, including the founding of the first mining organizations in Utah. In 1863, troops from Camp Douglas attacked a Shoshone camp at Bear River, Idaho. The "Battle of Bear River" gave Connor a name for being an able soldier, although the battle was later found to be a massacre. After being promoted to general, Connor also fought the Arapaho Indians in Wyoming. In 1876, the base was made permanent and re-named Fort Douglas. At this time many parts of the fort were rebuilt. Several African-American troops were located at the fort and were among those which fought in the Spanish-American War. During the World Wars, Fort Douglas became an important military center. In the First World War, the fort housed German Prisoners of War (who were known for their escape attempts). In the Second World War, the Ninth Army Corps headquarters was relocated to Fort Douglas from San Francisco (due to fears of a Japanese attack on the West Coast). The fort continued operation through the Cold War, but as the Soviet Union dissolved and the United States cut back on military spending, Fort Douglas was given the axe. Part of the fort was turned over to the University of Utah while the other part became the smaller Stephen A. Douglas Armed Forces Reserve Center. The University of Utah restored many of the buildings of Fort Douglas for University use and some of the land has been used to build new residence halls. The University section of Fort Douglas became the homes of many athletes during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.