Fort Holabird was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

post in the city of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, active from 1918 to 1973.

History

Fort Holabird was located in the southeast corner of Baltimore and northwest of the suburban developments of

Dundalk, Maryland Dundalk ( or ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest uni ...

, in surrounding

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City ...

, fronting on Holabird Avenue between Broening Highway and Dundalk Avenue. From 1941 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the military installation grew to include approximately 350 acres and 286 buildings. After the Second World War, activities at Fort Holabird were curtailed and portions of the property were transferred from the Army. The largest land transfers occurred in the timeframe over three decades later following the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, between 1977 and 1979, when 223 acres were transferred to the city of Baltimore. The city later developed the land in succeeding years into the Fort Holabird Industrial Park.

Timeline

*1918: Established as Camp Holabird on 96 acres of marsh near Colgate Creek. Established as the U.S. Army's first motor transport training center and depot in southeastern

. It was named for Army Quartermaster General and West Point graduate Samuel B. Holabird (1826-1907). *1918: During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Holabird supplied the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

in France with

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

-made vehicles. Thousands of military personnel were trained there to drive and repair automobiles and trucks. *1918 or after: Became home to the Holabird Quartermaster Depot. *2 July 1919: U.S. Navy blimp C-8 explodes while landing at Camp Holabird, injuring about 80 adults and children who were watching. Windows in homes a mile away are broken by the blast. *1920: by 1920 a center for the research and development of military vehicles was established at Holabird. Here the now-famous

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

was tested and refined. *1940: Listed as Holabird Quartermaster Depot on the 1940 U.S. Census. *1942: Renamed as Holabird Ordnance Depot. *1943: Renamed as Holabird Signal Depot. *1947: Renamed as Camp Holabird. *1950: Renamed as Fort Holabird. The U.S. Army Intelligence School and Counter Intelligence Records Facility based here until transferred to

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, ap ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 1972. It was also used as an Armed Forces Examining & Entrance Station (induction facility). *Early 1970s: Due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., Ft. Holabird was used to guard witnesses in major federal cases, such as the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...

hearings. E. Howard Hunt, Charles Colson and

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

were among the Watergate witnesses held there.Charles Colson. ''Born Again'', Chosen Books.5-alarm fire that destroyed buildings at Fort Holabird is 'termed very suspicious'
"The Baltimore Sun", October 6, 2001 *1973: Closed, area has been redeveloped into an industrial park. *2001: Fire destroys remnants of former spy school.

Notable people trained or stationed at Ft. Holabird

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

, former

President of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Tunisian Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية التونسية), is the head of state of Tunisia. Tunisia is a presidential republic, whereby the president is the head of state a ...

Donald L. Barlett Donald L. Barlett (born July 17, 1936) is an American investigative journalist and author who often collaborates with James B. Steele. According to '' The Washington Journalism Review'', they were a better investigative reporting team than even ...

, author and investigative journalist * Stephen Barnett, law profession and legal scholar *

Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and rep ...

, associate justice of the Supreme Court of United States * C. D. B. Bryan, author and journalist * Boniface Campbell, U.S. Army major general *

Roger Christie Roger Christie (born June 15, 1949) is an American ordained minister in the Religion of Jesus Church, which regards marijuana as a "sacramental herb." In 2000, he founded the THC Ministry, which offered cannabis as a part of its services. On July ...

, ordained minister in the Religion of Jesus Church * Garrison B. Coverdale, U.S. Army major general * Thomas J. Dodd Jr., U.S. Ambassador to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

* Oliver W. Dillard, U.S. Army major general *

Mike Gravel Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party, and who later in life twice ran for ...

, U.S. senator from Alaska, 1969-81 * W. E. B. Griffin, novelist *

Chic Hecht Mayer Jacob Hecht (November 30, 1928 – May 15, 2006) was an American Republican politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1983 to 1989, and as U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas from 1989 to 1993. Early li ...

, U.S. senator from Nevada 1983-89 * Dennis F. Hightower, former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce * Clint Hill, Secret Service agent * Patrick M. Hughes, former director of the

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the ...

* Thomas Charles Huston, author of the Huston Plan *

Eli Jacobs Eli Solomon Jacobs (born October 5, 1937) is an American financier and attorney, member of the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office and the former owner of the Baltimore Orioles from 1989 to 1993. Rise to succes ...

, financier and attorney, owner of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

from 1989 to 1993 *

Morton Kondracke Morton Matt Kondracke (; born April 28, 1939) is an American political commentator and journalist. He became well known due to a long stint as a panelist on ''The McLaughlin Group''. Kondracke worked for several major publications, serving for twen ...

, political commentator and journalist * Ann M. McDonough, first woman member of the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps *

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from ...

, U.S. senator from Maine, 1980-95 * Ben Moses, filmmaker and documentarian * Robert H. Pepper, U.S. Marines Corps lieutenant general * McCandlish Phillips, journalist and author * J. D. Salinger, author''J D Salinger: A Life'', by Kenneth Slewenski, 2011 * Douglas L. Turner, former Washington Bureau Chief of ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by ...

'' * Humbert Roque Versace, U.S. Army officer who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

* George J. Walker, U.S. Army brigadier general and former Deputy Commanding General of

INSCOM The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and nationa ...

Gallery

File:Camp Holabird.tif, Camp Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland, sometime between 1918 and 1923. File:Holabird ordnance depot 8d28982v.jpg, Holabird Ordnance Depot, Baltimore, Maryland, circa May 1943. File:Ft Holabird Sphinx.png, A sphinx guarded the entrance of HQ CIC at Fort Holabird in the 1950s.

References

External links