Fort Benjamin Harrison
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Fort Benjamin Harrison Historic District
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Graduates of the U.S. Army Chaplain School at Fort Benjamin Harrison pose for a photograph, April 1942
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| Location | E. 56th St.; also roughly bounded by Shafter Rd., Aultman Ave., and Glenn Rd., Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 39°51′50″N 86°0′38″W / 39.86389°N 86.01056°WCoordinates: 39°51′50″N 86°0′38″W / 39.86389°N 86.01056°W |
| Area | 360 acres (150 ha) |
| Built | 1908 |
| Built by | Army Quartermaster Corps |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 93001581, 95001359 (Boundary Increase) |
| Added to NRHP | September 6, 1995, December 1, 1995 (Boundary Increase) |
Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. It is named for the 23rd United States President, Benjamin Harrison.
Land was purchased in 1903, with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being his hometown. In 1901, former President Benjamin Harrison's son Russell through lobbying efforts sold a nearby U.S. Arsenal where the U.S. Army used the money to buy land where the fort is located today.
Fort Benjamin Harrison saw its highest level of activity during World War I and World War II. The Fort Benjamin Harrison Reception Center opened in 1941 and was the largest reception center in the United States by 1943.
Within Fort Harrison was Camp Glenn, named in honor of Major General Edwin Forbes Glenn, who had served as Fort Harrison's commandant from 1912–1913, and who commanded the officer training that began at his camps in 1916. Camp Glenn was a Citizens Military Training Camp (CMTC) that was also used to house Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers. When the United States reestablished the Military Police Corps in 1941, an MP school was established at Camp Glenn and was operation by early 1942. The area was also used to detain Italian and German prisoners of war in 1944 and 1945.
In 1947, the Army declared Fort Harrison to be surplus property, but declined to completely close the fort due to a lack of adequate training space for the Indiana National Guard. From 1948 to 1950, the post functioned as Benjamin Harrison Air Force Base. The Tenth Air Force was moved from Omaha, Nebraska and headquartered at Schoen Field on Fort Harrison, as well as Stout Army Air Field in Indianapolis. Overcrowding and inadequate facilities soon forced the 10th Air Force to move to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, and the Army reacquired control of Fort Benjamin Harrison.
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