Fort Douglas, Utah. Oct. 18, 1927

Salt Lake City: Nook Foto, 1912. Panorama silver gelatin photograph [20 cm x 57 cm] / [8" x 22.5"] A handful of minor creases and short tears, with pinholes at the corners. Nice contrasts. Nicely hand tinted. Bird's eye view of Fort Douglas taken from the present site of the Medical School, with Salt Lake City in the backsground. With the outbreak of the Civil War troops along the overland route were relocated to the east. President Lincoln called for volunteers to protect the mail route and directed Colonel (Brevet Major General) Patrick E. Connor to establish a post near Salt Lake City. Colonel Connor was concerned about secessionist activities in the area and chose a location in the foothills that allowed him to keep an eye on the Mormons. The Post was originally called Camp Douglas, in honor of the recently deceased Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas who had been a champion of the West. Over the next fifty years, Fort Douglas provided trained soldiers for the Indian Wars on the Great Plains and Spanish-American War. However, it wasn't until World War I that the Fort experienced major expansion. During both World Wars, the Post served as a mobilization and training garrison, as well as a prisoner of war camp. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor during the Second World War, Fort Douglas also served as the headquarters for the Ninth Service Command, which was relocated from Presidio, San Francisco.