Fort Douglas

Camp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially closed in 1991 and most of the buildings turned over to the University of Utah. A small section of the original fort is used by the Army Reserve and includes the Fort Douglas Military Museum. The increasing threat of violence was caused by the withdrawal of Federal troops from the West for action against the Confederacy in the Civil War. Colonel Patrick Connor was selected to establish a military presence in the Utah Territory and selected a...