Fort Douglas (Utah)
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Fort Douglas
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Fort Douglas Museum, January 2008
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| Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′55″N 111°49′59″W / 40.76528°N 111.83306°WCoordinates: 40°45′55″N 111°49′59″W / 40.76528°N 111.83306°W |
| Built | 1862 |
| NRHP reference # | 70000628 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 15, 1970 |
| Designated NHLD | May 15, 1975 |
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. It was officially closed in 1991 pursuant to BRAC action and most of the buildings were turned over to the University of Utah. A small section of the original fort is still used by the U.S. Army Reserve and includes the Fort Douglas Military Museum.
Early in the Civil War, the threat of violence increased with the withdrawal of Federal troops from the West for use against the Confederate States of America. Colonel Patrick Connor was ordered to reestablish a military presence with volunteer soldiers in the Utah Territory. He selected a site east of Salt Lake City, and Camp Douglas, named after Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was officially established there on Oct. 26, 1862. Connor's men were Union volunteers from both California and Nevada. The post served as headquarters for the District of Utah in the Department of the Pacific.
Following the end of the Civil War, between 1866 and 1898, the fort was part of the Department of the Platte. Its importance increased when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads joined rails at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, completing the Transcontinental Railroad.
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