Pride of Place: The History of the Plattsburgh Barracks

On the morning of Sept. 11, 1814, about 750 soldiers manned the still standing Fort Brown with large pieces of artillery behind a line of sharpened sticks. The Plattsburgh Barracks began with the construction of three forts: Fort Moreau, Fort Brown and Fort Scott built in the summer and early fall of 1814 prior to the Battle of Plattsburgh and owned by Plattsburgh residents Levi Platt and Pliny Moore. The forts named after Jacob Brown, Winfield Scott and one of Napoleon's generals were built to seal off the land from the British, who had designs of the Village of Plattsburgh, coming from the North. "The Plattsburgh Barracks didn't start until the building these three forts," said John Krueger, City of Plattsburgh historian. "The idea was to seal off this split of land because they knew the British were coming from the north and they had designs on the Village of Plattsburgh." Starting Construction The construction of the first permanent barracks and defenses left the land useless to Moore and Platt after troops hacked down trees for firewood and construction of the defenses upturned the land. Moore approached General Izard to gain an estimation of compensation for the damage done to his land. Izard, however, had a different idea: sell the land to the government to create a military reservation. The government, after a year of addressing concerns, purchased the land on July 31, 1816 and started construction of a hospital, officer's quarters and barracks, known today as the Old Stone Barracks in 1838 on the Plattsburgh Post, a structure that still stands today along with many others. "There are very few places in the United States where you can stand somewhere, look out and know that you're surrounded by 100 years of history," Krueger said. "So much has happened here." Major developments for the post began in 1868 when the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company received the right to construct a railroad through the Plattsburgh military reservation. In 1891, congress passed a bill allowing for $200,000 of federal funds to be spent on new buildings and facilities on the post. Residents of Plattsburgh came together eager to help the development of the barracks by donating land - totalling about 679 acres of land. By 1896, construction was completed, adding a series of houses known as "Colonel's Row" reserved for army officers and their families and the new parade grounds where marching drills were executed and a baseball diamond was created where the 21st infantry competed against other teams, attracting spectators from all over the North Country, including William McKinley. Training Camp War erupted across Europe in 1914 while the American military remained limited in size and neutral as much of the population wished to avoid World War I. A training program, in only two locations throughout the country, started intended to turn college undergraduates into reserve army officers. Many of the trainees attended these camps at their own expense as the programs lacked recognition as official federal programs and did not receive government funding. The concept caught the eye of Colonel Leonard Wood who quickly became impressed with the programs and launched the training camp movement. Wood looked at resort areas previously selecting places in Vermont, North Carolina and California, but he chose Plattsburgh not only because it was already a military post, but it was also not far from Hotel Champlain. The first camp took place in August 1915 recognized by the war department under General Order 38 - making it an official federal program officially part of the nation's national defense plan. In Plattsburgh, 30 to 50-year-old men from different walks of life woke up at 5:45 a.m. for calisthenics and drills until lunchtime, followed by time in training fields such as artillery, cavalry, signal corps or engineering. After the success of the first camp, more camps started around the country in the same pattern as those originally held in Plattsburgh, which gave the U.S. a template for how to train soldiers in a short period of time, creating the "Plattsburgh Idea" - training young men from colleges and businesses around the world in Plattsburgh to become officers and be well prepared if the nation goes to war. "The military training camp played a huge, vital role in American history," said Matthew Hewson, re-enactor and educator. "Without Plattsburgh and the people who foresaw our inevitable engagement in World War I, the United States would've gone to war with a major shortage of leaders and a major shortage of officers." Clinton County attracted the largest military exercises before the United States entered World War II. The exercises were intended to train troops in the faster and more mobile warfare that used new technology to improve communication and speed and taught troops in other activities such as trench digging, battlefield tactics, marksmanship and survival training. The start of World War II in December 1941 marked a time of change for the Plattsburgh Post as the 26th infantry left to fight overseas- leaving the post to house the Army Corps of Engineers for awhile until the barracks changed uses to a variety of different things. Last Years The U.S. Naval Training School, Camp Macdonough, came to be on the post to train naval officers. The school lasted one summer taking in 1,000 student officers every month for a 60-day course that gave graduates commissions as midshipmen. But when the war to came to a close in Feburary 1944, so did the school. Originally, the Plattsburgh Post's intent was house troops for the army after the war. However, in the fall of 1946, the military temporarily left for the first time in over 100 years when the grounds became home to the Champlain College to help returning war veterans adjust to post-war life becoming the first emergency institution in the country to meet the sudden demand of new military veterans. After operating for seven years, Champlain College closed its doors to make way for the Plattsburgh Air Force Base in December 1953 - using the buildings on the Plattsburgh Barracks to house officers and enlisted men and playing an important role in the national defense strategy of the time. "They saw the air force as the wave of the future," Krueger said. "Plattsurgh was perceived to be a good location." The Plattsburgh Barracks is now known as the U.S. Oval, which contains many of the old the old structures now used as offices, breweries, recreational areas and museums, including the Clinton County Historical Museum, who tries to promote and spread the story of the Plattsburgh Barracks to as many people as possible. CCHA Efforts The Clinton County Historical Association has undertaken numerous projects to preserve the history of the Plattsburgh Barracks prior to the Air Force's presence at the location. In 2014, the museum received a $5,000 Local Heritage Grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. With these funds, the association was able to complete several projects related to the Plattsburgh Barracks, including an educational program with a local homeschool group that focused on the historical buildings located in the oval that concluded with a walking tour of the Plattsburgh Barracks and an interactive touchscreen exhibit at the museum. The association was also awarded another grant this year by LCBP to publish a book on the Plattsburgh Military Barracks that's expected to be released by spring 2016. Lastly, a new committee has been formed at the association this year to commemorate the Centennial of the "Plattsburgh Idea" military preparedness movement - planning a symposium, exhibit and other educational programs to celebrate its anniversary in 2017. "The Plattsburgh Barracks was an institution in Clinton County that spanned a period of nearly 130 years and during those 130 years, the presence of military personnel and the activities held at the barracks played a significant role in the overall lifestyle and economy of the area," said Melissa Peck, director of CCHA. "Not only did this institution have an effect on many of the basic foundations of community life, but it also had an effect on the community narrative and the patriotic ideas held among the families and individuals who lived here." To learn more about the history of the Plattsburgh Barracks or the museum's projects and future events, visit www.clintoncountyhistorical.org.

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Pride of Place: The History of the Plattsburgh Barracks

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