Quartermaster Granary - Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 34° 40.104 W 098° 23.148
14S E 556272 N 3836442
Fort Sill was founded upon the orders of Phillip Sheridan in 1869. The historic area has a series of markers explaining the original functions.
Waymark Code: WM7ZW3
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2009
Views: 8
Quartermaster Granary
While the actual construction date of this building is unclear, it was being used by the quartermaster for the storage of grain in 1902. The 30’ x 80’ wood frame structure with a full-length, limestone basement is unlike the other buildings erected in the 1870’s. By 1900, many of the older buildings were being reroofed with sheet metal instead of the original wood shingles. The granary was apparently roofed for the first time with sheet metal.
In 1870’s, a civilian employee was frequently hired by the quartermaster to be “in charge of the public forage” for a monthly salary of $67. His duties included arranging for the purchase, transportation, and distribution of corn, oats hay and other sustenance to feed the livestock. Hay and firewood were stored within a large fenced area west of the stone corral below the hill.
After the Apache prisoners of war arrived on post in 1894, many of these former warriors were actively engaged in farming and ranching. These hardworking individuals produced enough Kafir corn and hay to meet their own requirements and provide large surplouses to the army at the same time. This continued until their formal release in 1913.
Beginning in the early 1920’s, the demands of a mechanized army, rather than one dependent on horses, brought more changes to the post. The old granary was converted to an ordnance shop office, a function which continued until after World War II.