Fort Holabird was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

post in the city of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, 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, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest unincorporated community in Mar ...

, in surrounding

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Holabird supplied the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

in France with

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

-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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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

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 military base, installation, in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County in southeast Arizona, approximately north of the Mexico–United States border, border with Mexico and at the northern end of the Huac ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

hearings. E. Howard Hunt,

Charles Colson Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as ...

and

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is a disbarred American 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 scan ...

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 (Tunisian Arabic: , ; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine, was a Tunisian politician who served as the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tun ...

, former

President of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia (), is the executive head of state of Tunisia. The president exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, pr ...

* Donald L. Barlett, author and investigative journalist * Stephen Barnett, law profession and legal scholar *

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, 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, 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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

* 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 represented Alaska in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran for president twice: in 200 ...

, 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 life ...

, 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 Patrick M. Hughes (September 19, 1942 – October 5, 2024) was a retired United States Army officer who served as the 12th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Previously, he was Director of Intelligence for the US Joint Chiefs o ...

, 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 (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

* 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 (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

from 1989 to 1993 *

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

, 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 19 ...

, 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 Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

, author''J D Salinger: A Life'', by Kenneth Slewenski, 2011 * Douglas L. Turner, former Washington Bureau Chief of ''

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'' *

Humbert Roque Versace Captain (United States), Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace (July 2, 1937 – September 26, 1965) was a United States Army officer of Puerto Rican American, Puerto Rican–Italian people, Italian descent who was posthumously awarded the United ...

, U.S. Army officer who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

* 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 nation ...

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