Fort Carson

Fort Carson (1942-Present) - Established in 1942 as a World War II training camp in El Paso County, Colorado. First named Camp Carson after the famed Kit Carson, western scout and military officer. Renamed Fort Carson in 1954. Active military installation. Fort Carson, Kit Carson Statue. Fort Carson Display Tank. Fort Carson Entrance Sign. World War II (1941-1945) Fort Carson was originally built on 60,000 acres of land purchased by the city of Colorado Springs and donated to the War Department in 1941. Construction began in 1942 and the camp headquarters was completed 31 Jan 1942. The initial building program called for some 1,650 buildings including 438 barracks, 181 mess halls and 18 hospitals along with many support structures. The Camp was built to accommodate 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Another 375 buildings were added at the end of 1942. In 1943 the post was expanded to include a Prisoner of War (POW) camp that could accommodate 3,000 POWs. The POW camp was soon expanded to hold up to 8,000 prisoners. The peak camp population reached 43,000 early in 1944 and a total of 104,165 troops were trained at Fort Carson during World War II. Cold War (1947-1991) Current Status Active duty post. Location: Primarily in El Paso County, Colorado. Portions located in Fremont and Pueblo Counties. Maps & Images Lat: 38.74697 Long: -104.78965 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 6,191' varies GPS Locations: 38.74697, -104.78965 Fort Carson 38.73779, -104.80369 4th ID Museum See Also: Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site Active Army Posts Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 103-104 Links: Official Site Wikipedia - Fort Carson Visited: 18 Jun 2015, 24 Sep 2011