Camp Bonneville

Camp Bonneville (1909-1995) - A U.S. Army Camp and Military Reservation established in 1909 in present day Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Named in 1926 for Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin L.E. Bonneville. Recommended for closure in the 1995 BRAC report and closed later in 1995. Also known as Camp Killpack and Camp Bonneville Military Reservation.

	Camp Killpack Barracks
Camp Bonneville Building

Camp Bonneville History

Established in 1909 as a leased drill field and rifle range for the nearby Vancouver Barracks. The 3,020 acre site was purchased in 1919 by the federal government. An additional 840 acres was leased in 1955 from the State of Washington.

Within the site there are about 25 firing ranges for various weapons and several non-firing training areas. Two cantonments were established to house troops on the camp. The Camp Bonneville cantonment was established in the late 1920s and the Camp Killpack cantonment was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). These cantonments cover about 30 acres and were constructed with temporary barracks and other buildings totaling some 56 structures.

Camp Bonneville was used as a training area for Vancouver Barracks during World War II. The camp was also an Italian prisoners-of-war camp during the war. The War Department declared the property excess after the war in 1946, but the military withdrew the camp from the surplus list in May 1947 to provide additional training facilities.

In 1959, Vancouver Barracks became a sub-installation of Fort Lewis located in Tacoma, Washington and Fort Lewis assumed control of the Camp Bonneville Military Reservation.

The Camp Bonneville Military Reservation was recommended for closure in the 1995 BRAC report and all active training units ceased operations at the camp by October 1995.

The initial environmental cleanup cost assessments for the camp were inaccurate and after the early transfer of the site to Clark County in 2006 it was discovered that the cleanup problem was far worse than anticipated and the program was put on hold pending additional funding. In June 2012, Weston Solutions Inc., the cleanup contractor, resume cleaning up Camp Bonneville after addition funding was made available.

Current Status

Under environmental cleanup and closed to the public, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington

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USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2512053

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Location: 23201 NE Pluss Road, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Maps & Images Lat: 45.69508 Long: -122.41591 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

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 829
• DoD BRAC Final Archives Search Report Findings: Camp Bonneville

Links:

• Clark County Washington - Camp Bonneville

Visited: No

Camp Bonneville Picture Gallery

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