Fort Whipple, Arizona

Fort Whipple was a United States Army post which served as Arizona Territory's temporary government center prior to the founding of the Territory's capital, which is today Prescott, Arizona. The post was originally established at Del Rio Springs, north of present day Chino Valley, Arizona, by Major Edward Banker Willis and Captain Nathaniel J. Pishon on December 23, 1863.[1] They led Companies C and F of the First California Volunteers and built the post under General Order #27 issued by General James Henry Carleton. The post was named Fort Whipple, after Amiel Weeks Whipple, an American military officer and topographical engineer. He served as a brigadier general in the American Civil War, and was mortally wounded on May 7, 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.

Fort Whipple
Prescott, Arizona
Fort Whipple historic plaque located on the grounds of the VA Hospital in Prescott, Arizona
TypeArmy fortification
Site information
Controlled by Arizona
ConditionMedical treatment facility
Site history
Built1863
Built by United States
In use1863–1913
Garrison information
Occupants United States Army

The Arizona Territorial Governor’s Party arrived at Fort Whipple on January 22, 1864. Consisting of most of the officials of the new territorial government of Arizona, Governor John Noble Goodwin used the fort as his base while he visited the territory to determine where to place the capital.

On May 18, 1864, Major Willis relocated the fort twenty-one miles south to a miner's tent settlement on the east bank of Granite Creek. The relocation of the fort was recommended by Governor Goodwin. Its placement was on higher ground, had better access to lumber, and the military could better protect miners. The fort was a large rectangular pine-log stockade. Prescott (approximately 1-1/2 miles west of the fort) was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, replacing the temporary capital at Fort Whipple.[2][3]

The old site at Del Rio Springs continued to be used by scouting parties and was called Camp Clark, in honor of John A. Clark, Surveyor General of the New Mexico Territory. The camp site was later sold, becoming Postle's Ranch.

Fort Whipple served as a tactical base for detachments of several regiments involved in the American Indian Wars between 1864 and 1886. Fort Whipple became headquarters of the Military Department of Arizona from 1870 to 1886 when Colonel George Crook was assigned to Fort Whipple. He was responsible for having a new fort built to replace the decrepit palisade fort. Between 1869 and 1872, the old fort stockade was razed and the majority of new construction occurred up until 1877. The depot, renamed Prescott Barracks in 1878, was merged with Fort Whipple in 1879, and was renamed Whipple Barracks.

From May 1885 to July 1886, Fort Whipple was home to Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson and Troop B of the 10th Cavalry Regiment (United States), also known as Buffalo Soldiers. By 1895, the fort was dilapidated and in 1897 was scheduled for deactivation. When the United States declared war on Spain in April 1898, the U.S. Army designated Whipple Barracks to be a point of muster for Arizona volunteers and the barracks were reopened on April 29, 1898. Two hundred (200) volunteers were recruited, called the “Arizona Cowboy Regiment”; they departed on May 4, 1898, to assemble in San Antonio, Texas. Officially called the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, they were nicknamed the “Rough Riders” and fought in Cuba.

Whipple Barracks was inactive between 1899 and 1902, and then reactivated in April 1902, with plans to rebuild and expand. New buildings and quarters were constructed starting in 1903, and were completed by 1908, and four companies (approximately 500 soldiers) moved in. When Arizona became a state in 1912, these troops were reassigned to other locations. Whipple Barracks was placed in a caretaker or ungarrisoned post status in 1913, and overseen by a small maintenance crew.

In 1918, during World War I, the U.S. Army reactivated Whipple Barracks as U.S. Army General Hospital #20. The hospital was designed to treat respiratory illnesses, primarily tuberculosis (TB). Construction of new wards and other auxiliary buildings took place, including buildings for the American Red Cross and Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) organizations. [4]

In 1920 the property was loaned to the U.S. Public Health Service and operated under a permit from the War Department. The U.S. Public Health Service operated Whipple Barracks until Executive Order 3669 [5] was signed on April 29, 1922. This executive order transferred the permit and functions of the hospital to the newly established U.S. Veterans Bureau. The hospital designation became Hospital #50, Whipple Barracks, Arizona. The hospital retained its primary function in treating former soldiers with tuberculosis. The facility became one of the most complete sanatoriums for the treatment of tuberculosis in the country.

On July 3, 1930, Public Law Number 536 authorized President Hoover by executive order to consolidate the U.S. Veterans Bureau along with several agencies focused on the treatment of veterans to become the Veterans Administration (VA). March 4, 1931 was the official date transferring the Whipple Barracks title and property from the War Department to the newly-established Veterans Administration.

The main hospital building (Building 107) was constructed between 1938 and 1939, and opened to receive patients in October 1939. In July 1959, the VA re-designated Whipple VA hospital as a general medical and surgical hospital, due to the decline of tuberculosis patient load and increase of medical and surgical load. On May 17, 1964, The Veterans Administration celebrated the 100-year anniversary of Fort Whipple. Medical Center Director Kenneth .J. O’Brien presided over the ceremony. In March 1989, the Veterans Administration became a cabinet-agency and was renamed as the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). During 1995, a reorganization of the entire agency occurred to refocus and address a variety of veteran’s healthcare needs. The VA hospital in Prescott along with the other VA clinics that served the northern Arizona region was officially named the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System (NAVAHCS).

On April 17, 2004, the VA hospital/medical center complex at Prescott, Arizona was renamed the Bob Stump Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, after Congressman Stump, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Significant expansion and construction has occurred the VA's administration of Whipple Barracks. Notable buildings include the Community Living Center (Building 148), which was built in two phases, Phase 1 between 1987 and 1989, and Phase 2 between 1995 and 1997; the Domiciliary (Building 151) built between 1988 and 1990; the new Outpatient Mental Health building (Building 161) built between 2014 and 2015; the new Pharmacy/Laboratory building built between 2016 and 2018.

Certified on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 by the National Park Service, the historic name of Fort Whipple is listed as “Fort Whipple/Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Historic District”.

Fort Whipple Museum and other historic structures

Pictured is one of the military officer's quarters (Building 11, painted yellow and green) which has been turned into the Fort Whipple Museum, with artifacts and history about the fort and hospital, including medical instruments, Army weaponry, the Buffalo Soldiers, maps, photographs and memoirs written by those stationed there. The museum is operated as a joint project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Bob Stump Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Also pictured are:

  • The Fort Whipple Officer's Row
  • The Fort Whipple NCO Quarters
  • The Fort Whipple Army Barracks
  • The Fort Whipple Post Headquarters
  • The Fort Whipple Theater
  • The Fort Whipple Guardhouse

Original location

Del Rio Springs marker where Fort Whipple was originally established

References

  1. FortWiki
  2. Brandes, Ray (1959). "A Guide to the History of the U.S. Army Installations in Arizona 1849–1886". Arizona and the West. 1 (1): 42–65. JSTOR 40166912.
  3. Hoagberg, Earl (May 1999). "135 Years Ago Today a Capital is Born Named Prescott". Sharlot Hall Archives & Library.
  4. Bates, Al (May 2000). "From Fort to Veteran's Affairs the latest chapter of Whipple". Sharlot Hall Archive & Library. Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  5. "Executive Order 3669", DocsTeach, National Archives

Days Past articles, a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International

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