Fort Lawton

Last updated
Fort Lawton
Fort lawton gym.JPG
Fort Lawton post exchange and gymnasium
Location Seattle, Washington
Built1900–1917
Architectural styleColonial Revival
NRHP reference No. 78002752
Added to NRHPAugust 15, 1978
In the Historic District, looking toward Puget Sound. The visible buildings are, left to right, the Band Barracks, Guard House and Quartermasters Stables. Fort Lawton 02.jpg
In the Historic District, looking toward Puget Sound. The visible buildings are, left to right, the Band Barracks, Guard House and Quartermasters Stables.

Fort Lawton was a United States Army post located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acres of Fort Lawton, was given to the city of Seattle and dedicated as Discovery Park. Both the fort and the nearby residential neighborhood of Lawton Wood are named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton.

Contents

While Fort Lawton was a quiet outpost prior to World War II, it became the second largest port of embarkation of soldiers and materiel to the Pacific Theater during the war. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list. Fort Lawton officially closed on September 14, 2011.

History

In 1896, the Secretary of War selected what would later be Fort Lawton for construction of an artillery battery intended to defend Seattle and the south Puget Sound from naval attack. Local citizens and governments donated 703 acres (2.84 km2) land to the United States Army for the installation the next year.

Soldiers taking a break at Fort Lawton in 1900 by Theodore E. Peiser Soldiers taking a break, Fort Lawton, August 1900 (PEISER 64).jpeg
Soldiers taking a break at Fort Lawton in 1900 by Theodore E. Peiser

Fort Lawton was named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton (1843–1899), a veteran of the American Civil War, the Indian Wars, and Spanish–American War campaigns, who was killed in action in the Philippines. The fort opened on February 9, 1900 [1] on a 1,100 acres (4.5 km2).

The military encampment was redesigned in 1902 for infantry use. In 1910, a design overhaul, to include housing for officers and enlisted men, was prepared by landscape architect John C. Olmsted. In 1938 during the Great Depression, the Army offered to sell Fort Lawton back to the city of Seattle for one dollar, but the city declined, citing maintenance concerns.

Boxer Rebellion

Fort Lawton was used as a marshaling camp for soldiers preparing to travel to China to deal with the Boxer Rebellion. Seattle photographer Theodore E. Peiser photographed horse corrals, soldiers, and United States Army Transport ships that departed Seattle for Nome, Alaska, on their way to China.

Buffalo Soldiers

On October 5, 1909, the United States Army's 25th Infantry Regiment which primarily consisted of African American soldiers transferred from the Philippines to Fort Lawton. These men are known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The initial 900 men stationed at the fort and their families accounted for about a third of Seattle's African American population. [2]

World War II

During World War II, at least 20,000 troops at a time were stationed at Fort Lawton, with more than 1 million troops passing through both before and after the war. It was the second-largest port of embarkation for US forces and material to the Pacific Theater during the war.[ citation needed ]

The post was also used as a prisoner-of-war camp, with more than 1,000 Germans imprisoned there. Approximately 5,000 Italians were passed through en route to Hawaii for imprisonment. On August 15, 1944 an Italian POW, Guglielmo Olivotto, was found murdered at Fort Lawton after a night of rioting between Italian POWs and American soldiers. Twenty-eight African-American soldiers were later court-martialed, convicted of the crime, and sent to prison. They and their families challenged the convictions; after an investigation, the convictions were set aside in 2007. A formal army apology ceremony was held on July 26, 2008; officials also presented the relatives of former US soldiers and the two remaining survivors with years of back pay, following the overturn of their dishonorable discharges. [3] [4]

On Memorial Day 1951, a grove of trees and monument honoring the war dead was dedicated near the post chapel. The Korean War brought a flurry of activity as troops headed to or returned from Korea were processed through Fort Lawton. In February 1953, the Fort Lawton Processing Center transferred half of its functions, the outbound tasks, to Fort Lewis (now called Joint Base Lewis McChord). Returnees continued to process through Fort Lawton.

In 1960, the Air Force established a radar station at Fort Lawton. Additionally, Nike anti-aircraft missiles and Air Force radars were in use at Fort Lawton, but in 1968 the site was rejected for proposed defense upgrades.[ citation needed ]

Native American occupation

In 1970, the fort was occupied for three weeks[ citation needed ] in March by a group of Native Americans, led by Bernie Whitebear, Ella Aquino, and Ramona Bennett, asserting that the Native Americans had claim to the land that was surplus to requirements. [5] [6] The Native Americans succeeded in garnering 40 acres of land and the establishment of the Daybreak Star Cultural Center, but 534 acres (2.16 km2) of the land was declared surplus by the Army in 1971. The property was transferred back to the city in 1972, and dedicated as Discovery Park in 1973. [7]

Closure

In 2005, the fort was included in the Base Realignment and Closure list for that year. Fort Lawton's family housing, consisting of the non-commissioned officer housing below and officer housing on the crown of the hill, has been used by the U.S. Navy for Navy and Coast Guard personnel for almost 40 years. They were purchased by a private developer, remodeled, and now in private ownership. The Capehart Housing in the center of the park was vacated by December 2009 and demolished during the summer of 2010; the land has become part of Discovery Park.

Fort Lawton officially closed on September 14, 2011, and the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, the last U.S. Army Reserve tenant on the post, moved to its new facility in Marysville, Washington. A closing ceremony took place on February 25, 2012. [8] The remainder of the fort property (with the exception of the military cemetery [9] on site) was transferred to the City of Seattle in 2012. As of 2018, there are plans to convert the property into low-income housing. [10] On 10 June 2019 the Seattle City Council voted to build 200-plus low-income and homeless housing units on part of the property but local residents sued to block such development.[ citation needed ]

Historic district

The Fort Lawton Historic District (FLHD) in the heart of Discovery Park contains numerous historic buildings and structures that were once in, and part of, Fort Lawton. The following list includes only buildings and structures that survived at least into the 1980s.

Official
structure
number
StructureConstructedCommentsImage
417Administration Building1902  Fort Lawton 03.jpg
640Double Officers Quarters1904  
642Double Officers Quarters1904  
644Double Officers Quarters1904  
653Air Defense Operations Building1960torn down 2008 
654FAA Radar Buildingc. 1959torn down 2008 Fort Lawton 12.jpg
Radar buildings

Building 672 and 670 can also be seen at left, and 640–644 at right.
655FAA Radar Antenna Domec. 1959 
670Single Officers Quarters1904Post commander's quarters Fort Lawton - Navy housing 01.jpg
670-area housing
672Double Officers Quarters1899 
676Double Officers Quarters1899 
679Double Officers Quarters1899 
681Reviewing Stand1900Concrete foundation still extant 
730Double Barracks1904Destroyed by fire February 13, 1983 
731Double Barracks1899No longer exists 
S-732Post Gymnasium1942 
733Post Exchange and Gymnasium1905  Fort Lawton 08.jpg
734Band Barracks1904  Fort Lawton 06.jpg
735Bakehouse1902Bakery until c. 1938, offices until c. 1960, no longer exists 
754Quartermaster Shops1905no longer exists 
755Civilian Employees Quarters1908  Fort Lawton 14.jpg
T-756Commissary Warehouse1939no longer exists 
757Quartermaster Storehouse1899no longer exists 
759Guard House1902  Fort Lawton 05.jpg
T-760Storehouse1938Used at some point as a garage for a fire truck, no longer exists 
T-761Bus Stop1949Scenes from movie Expiration Date (released 2006), filmed at this location Fort Lawton 04.jpg
901Double NCO Quarters1933  Fort Lawton - Navy housing 02.jpg
Fort Lawton - Navy housing 03.jpg
900-area housing
902Double NCO Quarters1933 
903Double NCO Quarters1904 
904Single Family NCO Quarters1930sBurned down approximately 2000 
905Double NCO Quarters1899 
906Single NCO Quarters1902Former hospital steward's quarters; previously adjacent to post hospital, north east of administration building, moved to present location around WWII
907Double NCO Quarters1899 
909Double NCO Quarters1904 
915Quartermaster Storehouse1905no longer exists 
915AAddition to Quartermaster Storehouse1939no longer exists 
915BBulk Storage Warehouse1938no longer exists 
916Quartermaster Stables1908  Fort Lawton 15.jpg
Building 916
917Quartermaster Stables1902 
S-918Post Engineer Facility and Vehicle Storage Building1904Later turned into a groundskeeper's building, no longer exists 

Source for buildings, construction dates, comments: [11]

The Chapel

Chapel-on-the-Hill, [12] outside the Historic District, has the status of a city landmark. [13] In July 2008, the City Council passed an ordinance that changed the boundary of the Fort Lawton Landmark District to include the Chapel and the Chapel Grounds. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenmore, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Kenmore is a city in King County, Washington, United States, along the northernmost shore of Lake Washington. It is a suburban commuter town at the mouth of the Sammamish River, 12 miles (19 km) northeast of downtown Seattle and 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Bothell. The population was 20,460 at the 2010 census. Kenmore Air Harbor is the largest seaplane-only passenger facility of its kind in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoreline, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately 9 miles (14 km) north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was 58,608, making it the 22nd largest city in the state. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Shoreline ranks 91st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown–International District, Seattle</span> Historic district in Washington, United States

The Chinatown–International District of Seattle, Washington is the center of the city's Asian American community. Within the district are the three neighborhoods known as Chinatown, Japantown and Little Saigon, named for the concentration of businesses owned by people of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese descent, respectively. The geographic area also once included Manilatown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daybreak Star Cultural Center</span> Native American cultural center in Seattle, WA

The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center is a Native American cultural center in Seattle, Washington, described by its parent organization United Indians of All Tribes as "an urban base for Native Americans in the Seattle area." Located on 20 acres in Seattle's Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood, the center developed from activism by Bernie Whitebear and other Native Americans, who staged a generally successful self-styled "invasion" and occupation of the land in 1970. Most of the former Fort Lawton military base had been declared surplus by the U.S. Department of Defense. "The claim [Whitebear and others made] to Fort Lawton was based on rights under 1865 U.S.-Indian treaties promising reversion of surplus military lands to their original owners."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia City, Seattle</span> Seattle Neighborhood in Washington, United States

Columbia City is a neighborhood located in the southeastern part of Seattle, Washington in the Rainier Valley district. It has a landmark-protected historic business district and is one of the few Seattle neighborhoods with a long history of ethnic and income diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteer Park (Seattle)</span> Park in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Volunteer Park is a 48.3-acre (19.5 ha) park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.

Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood within the cities of Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was originally established as Fort Sheridan, an Army post named after Civil War cavalry general Philip Sheridan, to honor his services to Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Point (Seattle)</span>

West Point is the westernmost point in Seattle, Washington, United States, jutting into Puget Sound from the Magnolia neighborhood. It also marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay; a line drawn southeastward to Alki Point marks the western extent of the bay. At the point itself is the 1881 West Point Lighthouse, the first manned light station on Puget Sound. Just to the east is King County's sewage treatment plant, and beyond that, Discovery Park, formerly the U.S. Army's Fort Lawton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clintonville (Columbus, Ohio)</span> Neighborhood of Columbus in Franklin, Ohio, United States

Clintonville is a suburban neighborhood in north-central Columbus, Ohio, United States with around 30,000 residents. Its borders, associated with the Clintonville Area Commission, are the Olentangy River on the west, Glen Echo Creek to the south, a set of railroad tracks to the east, and on the north by the Worthington city limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery (Seattle)</span> Historic cemetery in King County, Washington

The Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery on Seattle, Washington's Capitol Hill is a cemetery situated just north of Lake View Cemetery on the hill's northern slope, on East Howe Street between 12th and Everett Avenues East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery Park (Seattle)</span> A park in Seattle, Washington, US

Discovery Park is a 534-acre (2.16 km2) park on the shores of Puget Sound in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. As the city's largest public park, it contains 11.81 miles (19.01 km) of walking trails. Daybreak Star Cultural Center is within the park's boundaries. A lighthouse is located on West Point, the westernmost point of the park and the entire city of Seattle, and on the south side of the North Beach strip is a sewage treatment plant, but it is almost entirely concealed from the marsh, beach, and trail. The Discovery Park Loop Trail, designated a National Recreation Trail in 1975, runs 2.8 miles (4.5 km) through the park, connecting to other trails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnolia, Seattle</span> Neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States

Magnolia is the second largest neighborhood of Seattle, Washington by area. It occupies a hilly peninsula northwest of downtown. Magnolia has been a part of the city since 1891. A good portion of the peninsula is taken up by Discovery Park, formerly the U.S. Army's Fort Lawton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School</span> Former military base in Des Moines, Iowa, US

The Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School was a military base and training facility on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa. Established in 1901, the base is notable as the place where African Americans were trained to be officers for the U.S. Army during World War I, and where women first began training for US Army service in 1942 as part of the Women's Army Corps. Surviving older portions of the base were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974 in recognition of this history. The fort property was turned over to the city in the 1950s, and has since been put a number of public and private uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lawton riot</span>

The Fort Lawton riot refers to a series of events in August 1944 starting with a violent conflict between U.S. soldiers and Italian prisoners of war at Fort Lawton in Seattle, Washington during World War II. After the riot, prisoner Guglielmo Olivotto was found dead. This led to the court-martial of 43 soldiers, all of them African Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Anne Boulevard</span>

Queen Anne Boulevard is a 6.0-kilometre (3.7 mi) loop atop Seattle, Washington's Queen Anne Hill. It is a City of Seattle landmark. Authorized in 1907 and built from 1911 to 1916, it incorporates parts of 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th Avenues West; Bigelow Avenue North; West Blaine, McGraw, Wheeler, Fulton and Raye Streets; Smith, McGraw, and Wheeler Streets; West Highland Drive; and West McGraw and McGraw Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lowell (Tucson, Arizona)</span> United States historic place

Fort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Fort Lowell was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation. The Army chose a location just south of the confluence of the Tanque Verde and Pantano creeks, at the point where they form the Rillito River, due to the year-round supply of water during that period. The Hohokam natives had chosen the site centuries earlier, presumably for the same reason. To this day, shards of Hohokam pottery can still be found in the area. The Army claimed a military reservation that encompassed approximately eighty square miles and extended east toward the Rincon Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park</span> Cemetery in King County, Washington

Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park originated in 1885. It is located on both sides of Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington, and occupies roughly 144 acres. It is the largest cemetery in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Station Puget Sound</span> Former United States Naval station near Seattle, WA

Naval Station Puget Sound is a former United States Naval station located on Sand Point in Seattle, Washington. Today, the land is occupied by Magnuson Park.

The City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board is responsible for designating and preserving structures of historical importance in Seattle, Washington. The board recommends actions to the Seattle City Council, which fashions these into city ordinances with the force of law. The board is part of the city's Department of Neighborhoods.

Ella Pierre Aquino was a Lummi-Yakama-Puyallup civil rights activist and community organizer who was a matriarch of the Native American community in Seattle. She advocated on behalf of foster children and co-founded the American Indian Women's Service League in 1958. She published the Indian Center News and served as editor and columnist for the Northwest Indian News. Aquino was one of the key organizers of the occupation of Fort Lawton in 1970, which led to the establishment of the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Discovery Park. She was the subject of the 1987 documentary Princess of the Pow Wow.

References

Notes

  1. Wilma, David (October 17, 1999). "Fort Lawton is established on February 9, 1900". Essay 1757. HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  2. "Buffalo Soldiers are stationed at Fort Lawton beginning on October 5, 1909" . Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  3. "Black soldiers receive apology for wrongful convictions - CNN.com". CNN . Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  4. Yardley, "1944 Conviction of Black G.I.'s Is Ruled Flawed"
  5. Parham, Vera (2017). Pan-Tribal Activism in the Pacific Northwest: The Power of Indigenous Protest and the Birth of Daybreak Star Cultural Center. Lexington Books. pp. 18–19, 50. ISBN   978-1-4985-5952-2.
  6. Lossom Allen, "By Right of Discovery: United Indians of All Tribes Retakes Fort Lawton, 1970", Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, Fall 2005. Accessed 3 March 2018.
  7. Duane Colt Denfeld, "Fort Lawton to Discovery Park", HistoryLink.org Essay 8772, 23 September 2008. Accessed 2 April 2010.
  8. Gutierrez, Scott (24 Feb 2012). "Historic Fort Lawton will officially close during weekend ceremony" (Newspaper article). Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  9. Fort Lawton Military Cemetery; 47°39′37″N122°24′22″W / 47.6604°N 122.4060°W
  10. "Fort Lawton Redevelopment", City of Seattle. Accessed 16 January 2018.
  11. Steve Wilke and Karen James, An Archeological Evaluation of the Fort Lawton Historical District, Seattle, Geo-Recon International (Seattle), July 1984. A report submitted to the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. p 43–47.
  12. Marriage Certificate between Walter J. Monkerud and Eva Lee Start performed by army chaplin, on June 14, 1943, (# 91322) uses the name "Chapel-on-the-Hill, Ft. Lawton
  13. Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for F Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine , Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.
  14. Ordinance Number 122750