There is an historic hotel on the Post known as The Hacienda (Milpitas Ranchhouse) which serves the general public and can be used as guest housing by military personnel, and as available, to the public. The "west wing" of The Hacienda has also served as the Installation Commander's Quarters during various periods. A short distance past the old main gate, there is a road to the southwest which goes to what is known as the "Primitive Campgrounds". There are some camper trailers there, and some water spigots around the site. There is also a central restroom on the site and a store. Near that area is a lot that has several used FEMA trailers stored.
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, which runs through the fort, is the only road that connects the Salinas Valley with Highway 1 between Cambria and Pacific Grove. However, in January 2021, several landslides have destroyed the road. Reopening is not anticipated until 2023 or 2024.
Climate
Under the Köppen Climate Classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an average temperature above 10°C (50°F) in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between 18 and -3°C (64 to 27°F). Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30mm (1.18in) of precipitation in a summer month[2]
The United States Census Bureau has designated Fort Hunter Liggett as a separate census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes, covering the fort's permanent residential population. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 250.[4]
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
A Sheridan M551A1 is displayed within the post near the main entrance
In 1923, Newhall Land sold Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad and Rancho El Piojo to William Randolph Hearst.[7] In 1925, Hearst's Piedmont Land and Cattle Company bought Rancho Milpitas and neighboring Rancho Los Ojitos (Little Springs) ) from the James Brown Cattle Company.[8] The Hacienda, now a hotel, was constructed during Hearst's ownership and was designed by the architect Julia Morgan. The government purchased Hearst's properties plus two-thirds of Rancho Pleyto. It added other private holdings as well.[9] This surrounded the small unincorporated town of Jolon, which remains today in a significantly diminished form from its heyday.
The post is about 25 miles (40km) southwest of King City and about 86 miles (138km) south of old Fort Ord on the Monterey Peninsula. In general, the installation is bounded on the north by the Salinas Valley, on the east by the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, on the south by the Monterey/San Luis Obispo county line and on the west by approximately 55 miles (89km) of Los Padres National Forest. The highest mountain in the area is Junipero Serra Peak. At 5,862 feet (1,787m), it is visible toward the north and has a fairly good road leading to the summit. The peak was formerly known as Santa Lucia and local long-time residents still call it by that name. In winter it is sometimes cloaked with a white mantle of snow.[10]
Fort Hunter Liggett was under the authority of Camp Roberts, California, to the southeast, until 1952, when it became a sub-installation of Fort Ord. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, the post served two purposes— as a training area for the 7th Light Infantry Division (based at Fort Ord), and as the home for the Training and Experimentation Command (USACDEC) (usually abbreviated as CDEC and later as TEC). The mission of CDEC was to evaluate new Army and Marine Corps weapons systems by providing a simulated Soviet Mechanized Rifle Company to act as the "OPFOR", or Opposing Forces. By this method, the Sgt. York anti-aircraft gun was found to have serious flaws, while the Marine's Light Armored Vehicle was validated. As of October2018[update], the command is officially designated as the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett with Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA) (aka Camp Parks) located in Dublin, California as a sub-installation. [10]
Base Realignment and Closure impact
In its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended relocating the 91st Division from Parks Reserve Forces Training Area to Hunter Liggett. In 2007, the Army created the Combat Support Training Center at Fort Hunter Liggett and ramped up training from roughly 300,000 man-days per year (predominately during the summer), to over 850,000 per year, year-round. While training was centered around United States Army Reserve units preparing for deployment, such was provided to all Army components (Active, Reserve, and Guard), and to Air Force, Navy, Marines, and even foreign commands (the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force trained there in late 2007). Exercises held that first year included Pacific Warrior and Global Medic, which involved over 6,000 troops at Hunter Liggett, and connections to other units in locations across the nation. The Army installation's garrison commander relocated from Camp Parks to Hunter Liggett in early 2007, with oversight for Camp Parks and Army units and housing that remain at former NAS Moffett Field and B.T. Collins Reserve Center in Sacramento.[11]
Significant training infrastructure improvements were made including several Tactical Training Bases (TTBs - analogous to Forward Operating Bases), a wired "shoot-house", improvements to the hardened landing strip capable of handling larger Air Force transport planes, and a 7-mile live-fire convoy course, the US Army's only such training area capable of handling 360-degree fire up to .50 caliber. A new US Army Reserve Center was constructed and the 91st Division moved into their new Headquarters building in May 2009. On 11 September 2010 the new HQ was designated as the Master Sergeant Robb G. Needham Army Reserve Center after the first 91st Division combat casualty since WWII.[12][non-primary source needed]
The post is featured in Road Trip with Huell Howser Episode 147.[14]
Fires
In 2002, a small portion of Fort Hunter Liggett was scorched by a 2,000-acre fire that was started by a U.S. Forest Service employee's personal Jeep. The fire resulted from a "mechanical failure" in the vehicle, and the employee tried to put the fire out before it spread to brush. No injuries were reported but the fire did consume several outbuildings.[15] Following the ramp-up in training in 2007, two fires that year consumed 5,000 acres (an elevated boom struck an electrical wire, sparking the fire) and 2,000 acres (sparks from live fire catching dry vegetation near by).
In 2008, negligent campers left a fire smoldering at a Los Padres National Forest campsite immediately northeast of Hunter Liggett. The ensuing wildfire— subsequently called the "Indians Fire" after the campsite where it originated— consumed over 200,000 acres, 9,000 of which were on the northern end of the military installation. While battling the fire, over 3,000 firefighters from across the nation based at Fort Hunter Liggett near one of the newly established Tactical Training Bases.
On August 13, 2016, the Chimney Fire started on the south side of Lake Nacimiento and burned northward onto the post. By the time the fire was contained, over 46,000 acres were burned of which several thousand were on the southwest part of the post.
The Dolan Fire reached Fort Hunter Liggett in September 2020, forcing an evacuation warning. The fire began in August near Limekiln State Park.[16]
Ecology
The fort covers hundreds of acres of grassland, chaparral and oak woodland. There are several vernal pools, a rare habitat type.[17] The entire world population of the rare Santa Lucia mint (Pogogyne clareana) occurs on Fort Hunter Liggett grounds.[18]
A herd of tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) was established at Fort Hunter Liggett in December 1978 by translocation of 22 elk from the Tupman Tule Elk Reserve in Buttonwillow, California, and two additional elk bulls translocated were from San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in September 1979. However, severe poaching resulted in failure of the translocation, with 14 of 15 elk mortalities the result of illegal hunting.[19] The herd was re-established by the addition of 26 tule elk from the Owens Valley tule elk herd in December 1981, and the population reached 300-400 individual animals by 2002.[20]
Howser, Huell (30 September 2009). "Fort Hunter Liggett – Road Trip (147)". California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive. This video features many of the sites at Fort Hunter Liggett, and includes a brief interview with the Installation Commander, Col. Kevin Riedler.
Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra. The mission was the first use of fired tile roofing in Upper California. Today the mission is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey and is no longer active in the mission work which it was set up to provide.
Monterey County, officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Tupman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Tupman is located 20 miles (32 km) west-southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 331 feet (101 m). The population was 161 at the 2010 census, down from 227 at the 2000 census.
Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 10 feet (3.048 m). It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough and at the head of the submarine Monterey Canyon.
Bodega Bay is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 912 at the 2020 census. The town, located along State Route 1, is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast.
Jamestown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The population was 3,433 at the 2010 census, up from 3,017 at the 2000 census. Formerly a California Gold Rush town, Jamestown is a California Historical Landmark since March 16, 1949. It is the home of Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the Sierra Railway, which operates steam passenger trains.
Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The nearby city of Hinesville, along with Ft. Stewart and the rest of Liberty and Long Counties, comprise the Hinesville metropolitan area. Many of Fort Stewart's residents are members of the 3rd Infantry Division.
The Hacienda is the current name for a hotel in Monterey County, California, that was completed in 1930 for use by William Randolph Hearst as temporary housing for his employees and guests and headquarters for activities taking place on the surrounding land. The lodge building, designed by architect Julia Morgan, replaced and expanded upon an earlier wooden structure known as the Milpitas Ranch House which was destroyed by fire in the 1920s. The 1930 hotel has also been known as Milpitas Hacienda, Hacienda Guest Lodge and Milpitas Ranchhouse, under which name the property was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1977.
Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States", a sublime "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development", and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation". The views, redwood forests, hiking, beaches, and other recreational opportunities have made Big Sur a popular destination for visitors from across the world. With 4.5 to 7 million visitors annually, it is among the top tourist destinations in the United States, comparable to Yosemite National Park, but with considerably fewer services, and less parking, roads, and related infrastructure.
Fort Irwin National Training Center is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of 2,454 feet (748 m). It is located 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Barstow, in the Calico Mountains.
Rancho Mission Viejo is an active 23,000 acres (9,300 ha) ranch and farm, habitat reserve, residential community, and census-designated place in South Orange County, California. Rancho Mission Viejo originated as a series of land grants to John Forster in 1845. The remaining part of Rancho Mission Viejo consists of a nearly 17,000-acre (6,900 ha) nature reserve and multiple residential communities slated to open in phases between 2010 and 2030. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,378.
Jolon is a small unincorporated village in southern Monterey County, California. Jolon is located on the San Antonio River Valley, west of Salinas Valley and is entirely surrounded by Fort Hunter Liggett.
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road is the only road across the Santa Lucia Range on the Central Coast of California, connecting California State Route 1 and the Big Sur coast to U.S. Route 101 and the Salinas Valley. The road is well-paved and maintained over its length, but is winding and has precipitous drops. It is widely regarded as one of the best motorcycling roads in central California due to its ocean views and forest setting.
Lockwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 368.
Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named after Corporal Harold W. Roberts, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient. Nearby communities include San Miguel, Heritage Ranch, Oak Shores, and Bradley, all unincorporated. The nearest incorporated city is Paso Robles. Camp Roberts is roughly 25 miles southeast of Fort Hunter Liggett.
Rancho Milpitas was a 43,281-acre (175.15 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Pastor. The grant encompassed present day Jolon.
Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was a 22,136-acre (89.58 km2) Mexican land grant in present day southern Monterey County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Rafael Gonzalez. The grant extended along the Nacimiento River and Stony Creek, west of Rancho Milpitas.
Rancho El Piojo was a 13,329-acre (53.94 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquín Soto. The grant extended along Piojo Creek south of Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad.
The Dolan Fire was a large wildfire that burned in the Big Sur region and other parts of the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County, California, in the United States as part of the 2020 California wildfire season. The fire began at approximately 8:15 p.m. on August 18, 2020. On September 8, 15 firefighters were injured, one critically, when they were forced to deploy emergency fire shelters at Nacimiento Station. Ten adult California condors and two chicks died in the blaze, which began about a mile south of the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary in Monterey County. The nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society of Monterey lost a sanctuary that has been used to release the captive-bred condors into the wild since 1997. While no people or condors were at the 80-acre (32 ha) site, a research building, pens, and other facilities were destroyed.
José Mario Gil Adobe is a rancho adobe established in 1865 by Don José Maria Gil, a prosperous Monterey rancher of Spanish origin. The Adobe is located on Fort Hunter Liggett, near Jolon, in the southwestern part of Monterey County, California. The rancho adobe exemplifies the architecture style and cattle ranching economy prevalent in the Salinas Valley during the era of cattle ranching, which preceded the transition to vegetable farming dependent on irrigation. The site was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 1974.
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