Benicia Arsenal

Benicia Arsenal (1851-1964) - A U.S. Army arsenal established in 1851 by Bvt. Captain Charles P. Stone in present day Benicia, Solano County, California. Abandoned in 1964.

Benicia 1860 Comandant's Quarters	Benicia Arsenal 1876
Benicia 1872 Barracks Building

Benicia Arsenal History

Established by Bvt. Captain Charles P. Stone, Ordnance Department, in 1851.

The U.S. Army built several installations on Benicia Military Reservation:

• Benicia Barracks (1849-1898) occupied 99.5 acres in the northwest corner of the parcel; its hospital still exists today as an office building. It was the U.S. Army headquarters for the Department of the Pacific from 1851-1857 and was the embarkation point for most troops destined for Pacific Coast service up to the U.S. Civil War.
• Benicia Quartermaster's Depot (1849-1858) in the southern part of the Arsenal reservation near the waterfront, used for storing supplies from 1849-1858; none of its original buildings survive today.
• Benicia Arsenal (1851-1964) - established in 1850 for the storage and issuance of military materials; it was the first Ordnance Supply Depot in the West. In 1852, the US government designated the Benicia Arsenal as one of the country's five permanent arsenals.

Closed in 1964 and priviatized.

Benicia Arsenal Commanders List (edit list)

Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum	Notes
1851	1856	Bvt Captain	Stone, Charles P.	1237
1856	1860	Captain	Callender, Franklin D.	993
1860	1864	”Colonel	McAllister, Julian	1334
1864	1867	”Lt. Colonel	Wainwright, Robert A.	837
1867	1886	”Colonel	McAllister, Julian	1334
1886	1889	”Colonel	Aspin, Silas	N/A
1889	1890	”Maj.	Marye, William A.	1977
1890	1899	”Colonel	Babbitt, Lawrence S.	1947
1899	1902	”Colonel	Mordecai, Alfred	1941
1902	1903	”Lt. Colonel	Greer, John E.	2163
1903-07-21	1903-09-07	’1st Lt.	King, David M.	3523
1903	1904	”Maj.	MacNutt, Ira	2329
1904-03-16	1904-07-10	’1st Lt.	King, David M.	3523
1904	1905	”Maj.	Hobbs, Frank E.	2719
1905-04-15	1905-05-18	’1st Lt.	King, David M.	3523
1905	1911	”Lt. Colonel	Benét, James W.	2860
1911	1913	”Lt. Colonel	Ruggles, Colden L'H.	3335
1913	1914	”Lt. Colonel	Joyes, John W.	3568
1915	1917	”Lt. Colonel	Schull, Herman W.	3886
1917	1919	”Colonel	Baker, Frank	2415	This officer's first name was legally changed after this date, to Francis.
1919	1923	”Colonel	O'Hern, Edward P.	3569
1923-07-17	1925-07-06	”Maj.	Smith, Thomas J.	4655
1925	1928	”Maj.	Partridge, Clarence E.	4766
1928	1932	”Colonel	Lemon, George F.	N/A
1932	1935	”Colonel	Kiehl, Philip J.R.	4381
1935	1938	”Colonel	Nickerson, Lewis A.	5025
1938	1940	”Lt. Colonel	Krupp, Oscar	N/A
1940-09	1942-01-05	”Colonel	Kiehl, Philip J.R.	4381
1941	1942	”Lt. Colonel	Rogers, George D.	6439
1942	1943	”Colonel	O'Leary, Herbert	4878
1943	1946	”Colonel	Rutten, Paul G.	N/A
1946	1950	”Colonel	Nickerson, Lewis A.	5025
1950	1953	”Colonel	Chavin, R.S.	N/A
1953	1955	”Colonel	Hall, Francis G.	N/A	Cullum 9464 not online yet
1955	1958	”Colonel	Lawther, J. Paul	N/A
1958	1959	”Colonel	Moats, W.B.	N/A
1959	1961	”Colonel	Wells Jr., Albert C.	N/A
1961	1962	”Colonel	Sherden, John P.	N/A
1962	1964	”Maj.	Kuehl, Gregory	N/A
Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

• 
  Benicia 1859 Clock Tower Building
• 
  Benicia 1872 Guardhouse-Firehouse Building
• 
  Benicia 1855 Camel Barn Museum

Current Status

Some of the original (1850s) arsenal buildings now part of a city Park and museum complex in Benicia, Solano County, California.

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USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1702164

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Location: Benicia, Solano County, California. Maps & Images Lat: 38.054036 Long: -122.135561 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 56'

Sources:

• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 22-23
• 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 62
• Frazer, Robert W. (editor), Mansfield on the conditions of The Western Forts, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1963, ISBN 0-8061-1083-X, page 155

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Benicia Arsenal
• California Military Museum - The Posts at Benicia
• Wikipedia - Benicia Arsenal
• National Park Service - Benecia Arsenal
• Historic Photos

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