Bay Area Discovery Museum
Fort Baker History
The land at Fort Baker was once used by the Coastal Miwok, the
indigenous inhabitants of present day Marin County, who may have
sought shelter form the wind here and gathered mussels, tules and
cattails at the marsh. The earliest sailing vessel into San Francisco Bay
anchored at Fort Baker’s shores in 1775 and later, when the area was
part of Rancho Sausalito, it was used for grazing cattle and collecting
spring water.
Fort Baker was founded as an Army post more than 100 years ago. It has
played an important role in the defense of the San Francisco Bay for
much of its history. The Museum’s site also provides an unsurpassed
vantage point to one of this region’s most enduring icons, the Golden
Gate Bridge, the construction and completion of which has had a
profound effect on daily life in this region.
Fort Baker is one of the gems of the national parklands in the Golden
Gate National Recreation Area. Its 335-acre site nestled in a tranquil
valley at the northern entrance to San Francisco Bay. Adjacent to the
Golden Gate Fort Baker includes a rich tapestry of historic structures,
scenic views, and natural features. A cluster of historic buildings arranged
around a ten-acre parade ground lends a campus like appearance.
Currently the sites for the Bay Area Discovery Museum and the Coast
Guard Station have been transferred to the GGNRA, and the remaining
properties and buildings will be transferred from the Army to the GGNRA
in 2001.
Fort Establishment 1866-1897. This scenic Army post played a key role
in the defense of San Francisco Bay for more than a century. In 1850,
President Milliard Fillmore issued an executive order designating the point
a military reservation and the federal government set out to acquire the
site. The building this military fort was delayed by sixteen years of title
and price disputes with the landowners. The Civil War had come and
gone before the U.S. Army was finally in a position to fortify the northern
side of the Golden Gate.
The Fort includes earthwork batteries constructed in the 1870’s, which
are an example of the state-of-the art seacoast fortifications in the second
half of the nineteenth century. Relatively simple earthwork batteries were
constructed at the post in the 1870's but only a single cannon was ever
mounted prior to 1893. One of these fortifications, Battery Cavallo,
remains a particularly fine example of the state-of-the-art seacoast
fortifications in the latter half of the nineteenth century. These ramparts
provide habitat for the mission blue butterfly, an endangered species.
Fort Development 1891-1937. Beginning in the 1890’s, the Army began
a complete reconstruction of coastal fortifications for all the major harbors
of the U.S. including San Francisco Bay. The modernization of the
nation's seacoast defenses brought dramatic changes to Fort Baker's
Horseshoe Bay. The adjutant General of the Army wrote, “It is important
that there should be a strong garrison on that side of the harbor, as this is
really the Gibraltar of the Pacific Coast." Between 1897 and 1905, five
massive concrete batteries for the latest long-range guns were
constructed on the bluffs on both sides of Horseshoe Bay to protect San
Francisco Bay, its naval yards and port facilities from attack by a hostile
fleet. Two of these batteries, once armed with guns are located within the
site and easy walking distance from the Museum.
In 1897, the post received its new name, Fort Baker, in honor of former
Senator Edward D. Baker, lost in the Civil War. The attractive small post
that we recognize today began to take shape with the turn of the new
century. It was the first Army post in the area built specifically to support
the important mission of coastal defense. Between 1901 and 1911 the
permanent structures that comprise Fort Baker were built, including the
utility buildings that comprise the Museum's 7.5-acre campus. This period
of the Fort's development resulted in a cohesive architectural style for Fort
Baker, with Colonial Revival-style homes, barracks and community
buildings.
By 1910 the post was essentially completed, laid out on a curve around a
grassy parade ground, and planting of pepper, elm and eucalyptus trees
to cut down the wind and dust. Alcatraz military prisoners labored to
construct a road to Sausalito. The coastal marsh that formed a transition
from watery cove to grass valley was filled in-at the instigation of the post
surgeon, who considered it a health hazard – and the stream running
through the Parade Ground into the marsh was culvert, covered over with
bare ground and seeded with grass. Most of the guns were removed in
World War I, and the Fort reverted to caretaker status in the inter-war
years.
World War II 1938-1948. During World War II, rearmament came again
this time largely in the form of a mine depot, storage buildings, ammo
bunkers and piers to place protective minefields in the waters at the
Golden Gate. During World War II a number of buildings including a
temporary hospital and boat shop were constructed. Coast defense
activities at the fort ceased after 1949 when the Mine Detachment Artillery
School closed. After the War, Fort Baker became the administrative
headquarters of the 91st(Reserve) Infantry Division, which still operate at
the site.
After nearly 100 years, the historic structures and landscapes of this Fort
remain essentially intact and its buildings represent some of the nation’s
finest turn-of the century military architecture. Fort Baker was listed as an
historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The
facilities renovated by the Bay Area Discovery Museum include the post
office, stables, coal shed bakery and quartermaster and ordnance
warehouse.
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