The present campus is located on the grounds of the former Fort Douglas, previously Camp Douglas. Camp Douglas was established
in 1862 in order to protect the Overland Trail and was garrisoned by the Third California Infantry of volunteers. Troops
from the camp were responsible for the Bear Creek Massacre that killed upwards of 250 Shoshone
near Preston, Idaho in 1862. In
1866 regular army troops replaced the volunteers and in 1875 the camp was rebuilt with more substantial buildings and renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was the base for several
campaigns against Indians in the 1870s. Black troops arrived in 1896 and two years later were shipped off to
the Spanish American War. During World War I the fort was used as an internment camp for enemy aliens. Fear of Japanese attack during
World War II caused the 9th Corps to move its headquarters from San Francisco to Fort Douglas. Later it once again was used to house prisoners of war. It finally closed on October 26, 1991. The Fort Douglas
Military Museum exists to preserve and illuminate the past of this military installation, a National Historic Landmark.