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Title: Officers Row, Fort Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa
Description: Looking northeast at several housing units for army officers who attended the Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School established in 1901 on 640 acres, several miles south of downtown Des Moines. In 1917 the first officer candidate class of African Americans in US military history, trained at Fort Des Moines, and received commissions. Also in 1917 a training camp for black medical personnel began, and in 1918 the fort was used for the treatment of World War I casualties. In 1933-34 it was used as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. With the entry of the United States into World War II, the fort was used as a training center for women, for service in the Army's Women's Army Corps. After the war, the fort housed veteran soldiers for a time, and was turned over to the city in the early 1950s. Much of the original 640-acre base was sold off for development as the city grew. A number of the fort's buildings still stand, mainly on the southern and eastern edges of the parade ground. These buildings, including barracks, quarters, and stables, are now used for a variety of civic and commercial purposes. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 1919 postmark. Number R-75252.
Date Created: 1919
PID: grinnell:16759