Fort Crowder
Encyclopedia
Fort Crowder was a U.S. Army post in southwest Missouri
, constructed and used during World War II
.
in 1941, the post was to serve as an armor training center. The U.S. Army selected the Neosho site for the base because of its proximity to water, railroads, and highways. As it was constructed, it was re-designated as a U.S. Army Signal Corps training center.
It was named for Enoch Crowder
, a Missouri general who was instrumental in developing the draft for World War I
and the Selective Service. The post also served as an infantry replacement center and had a small German prisoner of war detention facility.
By 1943 the army had acquired 42786.41 acres (173 km²) in Newton and McDonald
Counties.
Writers for the 1960s-era The Dick Van Dyke Show
, made the post the setting where Rob and Laura Petrie, portrayed by actors Dick Van Dyke
and Mary Tyler Moore
, met; Rob was a sergeant in Special Services and Laura was a USO
dancer. Cartoonist
Mort Walker
was also stationed there and drew inspiration for Camp Swampy of his Beetle Bailey
comic strip
. Jean Shepherd
featured many stories of his time at Camp Crowder in various monologues. The post is also notable as the birthplace of landmark LabVIEW programmer Michael Porter.
In the early 1950s, local congressman Dewey Jackson Short
, senior member of the House Armed Services Committee secured authorization and some funding to build two permanent barracks and a disciplinary barracks and reactivate the post as a permanent installation, Fort Crowder. Its mission was to be a permanent home for the Army's military police training school. With Short's defeat in the 1956 election, the fort was deactivated again. As that took place, about 2000 acres (8.1 km²) of the post was turned over to the Air Force to construct Plant 65, a rocket engine manufacturing facility that was operated by contract to the Rocketdyne
division of North American Rockwell. The facility constructed and tested engines for the Mercury and Gemini programs until its contract ended in 1968.
The permanent barracks, were obtained as surplus and formed the core of the community college campus for Crowder College
.
to operate a military training facility under license from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 4358.09 acres (18 km²). The remainder of the land was given to various public and private entities.
Past operations include rocket engine
testing and manufacturing, aircraft
maintenance, industrial waste
treatment facility operations, landfilling, underground fuel storage, burn pits and lagoons. In addition, during the early 1950's the post was used as a reception center for newly inducted draftes and enlistments who were issued the initial uniform clothing allowance and the formed in to packacts for shipment to other army post for initial testing and subsequent assignment to a basic training command.
and soil
contamination has been identified in various areas of the base's original property boundaries. Trichloroethylene
contamination in soils and groundwater has been documented at the site and may include off-site contamination in a number of private wells. Waste material generated from the former Fort include aviation and vehicular fuels, oils, greases, metals, paints and solvents.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, constructed and used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Establishment and Purpose
Originally established as Camp Crowder south of Neosho, MissouriNeosho, Missouri
Neosho is the most populous city in and the county seat of Newton County, Missouri, United States. Neosho is an integral part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in 1941, the post was to serve as an armor training center. The U.S. Army selected the Neosho site for the base because of its proximity to water, railroads, and highways. As it was constructed, it was re-designated as a U.S. Army Signal Corps training center.
It was named for Enoch Crowder
Enoch Crowder
Major General Enoch Herbert Crowder, USA commonly referred to as General Crowder, was an American Army lawyer who served as the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army from 1911 to 1923...
, a Missouri general who was instrumental in developing the draft for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Selective Service. The post also served as an infantry replacement center and had a small German prisoner of war detention facility.
By 1943 the army had acquired 42786.41 acres (173 km²) in Newton and McDonald
McDonald County, Missouri
McDonald County is a county located in Southwest Missouri in the United States of America. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 23,083. Its county seat is Pineville...
Counties.
Writers for the 1960s-era The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, made the post the setting where Rob and Laura Petrie, portrayed by actors Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
and Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, met; Rob was a sergeant in Special Services and Laura was a USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
dancer. Cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Mort Walker
Mort Walker
Addison Morton Walker , popularly known as Mort Walker, is an American comic artist best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. He has signed Addison to some of his strips.Born in El Dorado, Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri...
was also stationed there and drew inspiration for Camp Swampy of his Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip set in a fictional United States Army military post, created by cartoonist Mort Walker. It is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
. Jean Shepherd
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker Shepherd was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep....
featured many stories of his time at Camp Crowder in various monologues. The post is also notable as the birthplace of landmark LabVIEW programmer Michael Porter.
Post War and Cold War Use
In 1946, the post was deactivated and placed in a caretaker status. While the core of the post was retained, many of the wood temporary barracks were declared surplus and sold. The base's movie theatre was disassembled and reassembled on the campus of what is today the University of Missouri - Kansas City where it was the University of Kansas City Playhouse until being torn down for a new theatre. A walled patio and fireplace with masks of Comedy and Tragedy were built near the theater and are still landmarks on the university campus.In the early 1950s, local congressman Dewey Jackson Short
Dewey Jackson Short
Dewey Jackson Short was a Republican U.S. Representative from Missouri's 7th congressional district for 12 terms and a staunch opponent of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal.-Early life:...
, senior member of the House Armed Services Committee secured authorization and some funding to build two permanent barracks and a disciplinary barracks and reactivate the post as a permanent installation, Fort Crowder. Its mission was to be a permanent home for the Army's military police training school. With Short's defeat in the 1956 election, the fort was deactivated again. As that took place, about 2000 acres (8.1 km²) of the post was turned over to the Air Force to construct Plant 65, a rocket engine manufacturing facility that was operated by contract to the Rocketdyne
Rocketdyne
Rocketdyne was a Rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, California, United States. The company was related to North American Aviation for most of its history. NAA merged with Rockwell International, which was then bought by Boeing in December, 1996...
division of North American Rockwell. The facility constructed and tested engines for the Mercury and Gemini programs until its contract ended in 1968.
The permanent barracks, were obtained as surplus and formed the core of the community college campus for Crowder College
Crowder College
Crowder College, established in 1963 on the grounds of the former Fort Crowder, is a two-year community college serving the Junior College District of Newton and McDonald counties in southwestern Missouri and other outlying areas, granting certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees...
.
Final Disposition
With the end of the North American Rockwell contract, the remaining Federal government holdings were transferred to the General Services Administration as surplus property for interim management and eventual disposal. In the mid-1980s, the remaining parcels of the former post were transferred to the Missouri Department of Conservation for wildlife management, the Neosho public school district for a school farm, the Missouri National GuardMissouri National Guard
The Missouri National Guard consists of the:*Missouri Army National Guard*Missouri Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
to operate a military training facility under license from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 4358.09 acres (18 km²). The remainder of the land was given to various public and private entities.
Past operations include rocket engine
Rocket engine
A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
testing and manufacturing, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
maintenance, industrial waste
Industrial waste
Industrial waste is a type of waste produced by industrial activity, such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution....
treatment facility operations, landfilling, underground fuel storage, burn pits and lagoons. In addition, during the early 1950's the post was used as a reception center for newly inducted draftes and enlistments who were issued the initial uniform clothing allowance and the formed in to packacts for shipment to other army post for initial testing and subsequent assignment to a basic training command.
Environmental issues
GroundwaterGroundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
and soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
contamination has been identified in various areas of the base's original property boundaries. Trichloroethylene
Trichloroethylene
The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a chlorinated hydrocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear non-flammable liquid with a sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which is commonly known as chlorothene.The IUPAC name is...
contamination in soils and groundwater has been documented at the site and may include off-site contamination in a number of private wells. Waste material generated from the former Fort include aviation and vehicular fuels, oils, greases, metals, paints and solvents.