Quartermaster Warehouse - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Quartermaster Warehouse

The post quartermaster was one of the more important positions on a frontier army post. Line officers were temporarily assigned to this rather demanding job, often making them the most sought after individual on post. He was responsible for obtaining materials for repairs to all buildings on post; obtaining and dispatching mules, horses, and oxen for work projects; handling complaints about the tea, bacon, etc. He was expected to know everything about plumbing, masonry, carpentry, architecture, storekeeping, transportation, bookkeeping, and engineering. He seldom had assistants, except for a few sergeants, and no sympathy from anyone.

Captain A.G. Robinson was the first quartermaster in 1873-74. His successor, Lieutenant Henry W. Lawton, became known as the “Prince of Quartermasters” while serving under Colonel Ranald Mckenzie in 1875. Lawton was later killed during the Philippine Insurrection in 1899 and was memorialized when the nearby city of Lawton was founded in 1901.

It was Lieutenant H.W. Hovey, while serving as the quartermaster, who obtained the first tin bathtubs for the post in 1887. Each officer’s quarters received one, and one went to each barracks. Some materials were in short supply however, when it was noted “…hardwood boards, furnished for the construction of coffins, were made into furniture.” Coffins were often made out of packing boxes instead.

Another officer, Lieutenant Hugh L. Scott, served as the quartermaster from 1890-97. He later attained the rank of general and became Chief of Staff of the Army. During his quartermaster assignment, there was much improvement to the post. Most of the buildings were reroofed and rotten boards replaced. A new water tower was erected, and new plumbing was installed in the quarters. He also succeeded in obtaining nine new porcelain-lined bathtubs for the post.

This warehouse was one of several buildings utilized by the quartermaster, including a corral, forge house, granary, and commissary. The warehouse was constructed in 1872-73, permitting the first such facility on the southeast corner of the quadrangle to be converted to an Infantry barracks. The interior flooring was originally level with the loading platform at the rear of the building, allowing off-loading for wagons. The large timbers along the walls in the west end of the building, as well as the lowered floor, resulted from its use as a gun and tractor shop beginning in 1922.

County: Comanche Record Address:: Fort Sill, OK USA 73503 Rate the Site: Sponsor (Who put it there): Fort Sill Museum Web site if available: Not listed Date Erected: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   06/27/2014 TheRadcliffs visited it