Camp Mabry
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Camp Mabry (
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
: KATT) is a
military installation A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and Military operation, operations. A military base always provides ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, housing the headquarters of the
Texas Military Department The Texas Military Department (TMD) is an Government of Texas#State agencies, executive branch agency of the Government of Texas, Texas government. Along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, it is charged with providing the security of Tex ...
, Texas Military Forces, and Texas Military Forces Museum. Established in 1892, Camp Mabry is the third-oldest active military installation in Texas, behind
Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...
and
Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...
. It was named for Brigadier General Woodford H. Mabry, the Adjutant General of Texas when the camp was founded. The camp was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1996.


Military functions

Camp Mabry's Building 8 is the home to the
Texas Military Department The Texas Military Department (TMD) is an Government of Texas#State agencies, executive branch agency of the Government of Texas, Texas government. Along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, it is charged with providing the security of Tex ...
headquarters which contains the Joint Force Headquarters of the Texas Military Forces and office of the Adjutant General of Texas. It is also home to Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and
Texas State Guard The Texas State Guard (TXSG) is part of the State defense force, state military force of Texas, and one of three branches of the Texas Military Forces. Along with the other two branches, the TXSG falls under the command of the Governor of Texas an ...
headquarters and hosts the Texas Military Forces Museum. Camp Mabry has served a variety of military purposes since its establishment. It was used as a mobilization area during the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
, as headquarters for the Texas Defense Guard during
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 ...
, and as a training facility for the Texas DPS and the Texas Rangers until 1953. It has also hosted the Texas National Guard's State
Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...
since 1959. Camp Mabry currently hosts other branches of the
Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces The reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are military organizations whose members generally perform a minimum of 39 days of military duty per year and who augment the active duty (or full-time) military when necessary. The reserv ...
from the
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
, the
United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...
Navy Operations Support Center (NOSC Austin) and the
United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...
.


Site

Camp Mabry's original site, overlooking the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
three miles (5 km) northwest of
downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. The area of the district is bound by Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Austin), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, Inte ...
, was donated by the city to the state in 1892. It was initially a literal " camp", a space in which the Texas Volunteer Guard encamped during the summers while hosting mock battles and demonstrations for the people of Austin. In 1909 the camp was greatly enlarged by the addition of of land purchased by the federal government for use in training the state
national guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
. Other land gifts brought the camp to its present size of around by 1911. The site now adjoins the west side of Mopac Expressway.


Facilities

The first constructions at the camp were grandstands and a mess shed, funded by paid admissions to the historical reenactments and events held there. In 1915 an
arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
became the first permanent structure built onsite, allowing military equipment and weapons to be moved out of storage in the capitol building. 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 ...
the
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 ...
used the camp as a training site and built several
barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
and administration buildings. From 1935 to 1943, the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
(WPA), under the sponsorship of the Adjutant General Department of Texas, completed a $130,000 improvement project, of which the WPA provided $92,000 for labor. The WPA did necessary repairs and "other improvements to generally restore the useful value" of 15 buildings, built structures of native
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
that included rustic walls, entrance gates and guard post, a dam, arched bridges, drainage ditches, a flagpole base, cannon bases, workshops, warehouses and storage buildings. Infrastructure features included limestone culverts, head walls, and limestone or concrete sidewalks. They constructed roads and cleared, leveled, sodded, and drained the camp. Other facilities include the 136th Regional Training Institute, state Combined Support Maintenance Shops, the armory of the 36th Infantry Division headquarters, a clinic, a parachute packing and storage facility, and additional storage buildings. In 1992 the Texas Military Forces Museum opened on the site. Prior to the
September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, Camp Mabry's mile-long track that sits adjacent to
Mopac MOPAC is a computational chemistry software package that implements a variety of semi-empirical quantum chemistry methods based on the neglect of diatomic differential overlap (NDDO) approximation and fit primarily for gas-phase thermochemistry ...
was a popular destination for walkers and joggers, and the field within it was used by many youth sports teams. The track and field are still available for public use, though adult visitors must present a state or federal ID at the gate.


Weather station

Camp Mabry has also operated an
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
recognized
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
since 1898.


Tenant units


United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

* 321st Military Intelligence Battalion


United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

* Navy Operations Support Center (NOSC Austin)


United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

* Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 23d Marines 4th Marine Division


Texas Army National Guard

* 36th Infantry Division **Headquarters and Headquarters Company **36th Infantry Division Band * 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment **Headquarters and Headquarters Company **Company A, 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment * 294th Quartermaster Company * 71st Theater Information Operations Group **101st Information Operations Battalion **102nd Information Operations Battalion


Texas Air National Guard

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company


See also

* Texas Military Forces *
Texas Military Department The Texas Military Department (TMD) is an Government of Texas#State agencies, executive branch agency of the Government of Texas, Texas government. Along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, it is charged with providing the security of Tex ...
* List of conflicts involving the Texas Military * Awards and decorations of the Texas Military


References


{{National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Military in Austin, Texas Military facilities in Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Neighborhoods in Austin, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Mabry Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Texas Military Department