Fort Baker (1)

Fort Baker (1) (1867-1998) - Originally established as Lime Point Military Reservation in 1867, Marin County, California. Renamed in G.O. 25, 29 Apr 1897, for Colonel Edward D. Baker an ex‑Senator from California who was killed 21 Oct 1861 at the battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia, during the U.S. Civil War. Also known as Lime Point Fort.

Fort Baker Barracks Row	Fort Baker Commanding Officer's Quarters
Fort Baker Aerial View

Endicott Period (1890-1910)

Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.

Established in 1897 to guard the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Original Gun Batteries were Point Bonita, Point Diablo, Gravelly Beach, Lime Point Ridge, Cavallo, and Point Cavallo.

In 1890 plans were developed by a Board of Engineers for a series of eight Modern Endicott Period batteries on the north shore of the Golden Gate Strait, guarding the entrance to San Francisco Harbor. The Lime Point Military Reservation was renamed Fort Baker in 1897 and construction on the new batteries and the Fort infrastructure begun. Construction of permanent buildings began in 1901 with essential structures and by 1942 there were 159 buildings. Construction of the original planned eight gun batteries was complete by 1905. In 1904 the post was split into two forts, Fort Baker and Fort Barry. The dividing line between them was a North-South line originating at Point Diablo. The batteries that remained on Fort Baker are listed below.

**Fort Baker (1) Endicott Period Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Ridge	4	15"	Rodman	1890-1909	$ ?	Smoothbore
Battery Spencer	3	12"	Barbette	1893-1897-1897-1943	$ 110,353	1 Gun removed 1919
Battery Kirby	2	12"	Disappearing Carriage	1899-1900-1900-1941	$ 70,334	1 Gun removed 1933
Battery Cavallo	3	8"	Rodman	1872-1876-1900-1910	$ 170,504	Converted Rodman cannons
Battery Duncan	2	8"	Barbette	1898-1899-1900-1917	$ 57,535
Battery Wagner (2)	2	5"	Balanced Pedestal	1899-1901-1901-1917	$ 25,000
Battery Yates	6	3"	Pedestal	1903-1903-1905-1943	$ 41,407
Source: CDSG

World War I (1917-1918)

At the beginning of American involvement in World War I the guns of Battery Duncan and Battery Wagner (1) were removed for potential service overseas. After the war, one gun was removed from Battery Spencer and the post became inactive.

World War II (1941-1945)

In the buildup to World War II, Fort Baker was reactivated as a mine depot. Over three hundred underwater mines guarded the Golden Gate during World War II, tended by the Army’s “navy” of mine vessels berthed at Fort Baker.

Two gun batteries were build at Gravelly Beach to provide an anti-aircraft and anti-motor torpedo boat (AMTB) capability for the post and the remaining operational batteries. By 1945, only Battery AMTB - Gravelly Beach, Battery Yates and two 40mm guns were active, all for AMTB defense.

A large mobilization hospital was constructed starting in 1941 to supplement Letterman Hospital at the Presidio of San Francisco. The hospital grew from an initial twenty-five temporary WWII buildings to forty-five buildings by the end of the war. The hospital complex was located on filled in marsh land above Horseshoe Cove.

**Fort Baker (1) World War II Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Kirby Beach	2	3"	Pedestal	1942-1942-1943-1943	$ 956	Guns from Battery Yates
Battery AMTB - Gravelly Beach	2	90mm	Pedestal	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 4,908	Partially buried
Source: CDSG

Cold War (1947-1991)

After the war, Fort Baker became a sub-post of Fort Winfield Scott and later of the Presidio of San Francisco in 1950. Later, it was used to train Army Reserve troops and as a Headquarters for Nike missile units in the bay area.

Current Status

Part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA) administered by the National Park Service. Fort Baker is within the boundary of Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service has signed a 60‑year lease for conversion of Fort Baker into a bayside lodge and retreat.

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Location: North side of the Golden Gate Bridge on Lime Point, California.

Maps & Images

Lat: 37.836513 Long: -122.479019

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: 581'

Sources:

Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 22
Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 20
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 61
Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 135-163
GGNRA, Cultural Landscape Report for Fort Baker, GGNRA, July 2005

Links:

Visited: 19 Aug 2009

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