| Name | Fort Knox |
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| Location | Kentucky |
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| Latitude | 37.892809 |
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| Longitude | -85.974709 |
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| Image2 | |
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| Caption2 | Location of Fort Knox in Kentucky |
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| Type | Military Base |
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| Built | 1918 |
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| Used | 1861–1865: Civil War1865–1903: Settlement1903–1918: Training Grounds1918–1925: Camp Knox1925–1928: National Forest1928–1931: Camp Knox1932 – present: Fort Knox |
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| Controlledby | 1861–1865: Contested1865 – present: United States |
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| Current commander | Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley |
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| Battles | }} |
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Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet Command and the United States Army Accessions Command. U.S. Army Armor Center, the U.S. Army Armor School (to move to Fort Benning), and is used by both the Army and the Marine Corps to train crews on the M1 Abrams main battle tank. The history of the US Army's Cavalry and Armored forces, and of General George S. Patton's career, can be found at the General George Patton Museum on the grounds of Fort Knox. Parts of the base in Hardin and Meade Counties form a census-designated place (CDP), which had a population of 12,377 at the 2000 census.
Bullion Depository
The
United States Department of the Treasury has maintained the Bullion Depository on the post since 1937.
This facility is operated solely by the Treasury Department, and is independent of the Army's operations there.
Due to the location of the Depository at the fort, the term "Fort Knox" is often used in American English as an analogue that conveys cutting-edge security, impregnability, and excessive wealth.
Patton Museum
The museum complex consists of the Patton, WWI, WWII and Post World War Galleries as well as a Special Exhibit area, The Emert L. Davis Memorial Library, outdoor static displays and the Armor Memorial Park. It is adjacent to Keyes Park, which contains a covered picnic facility, restrooms and children’s playground. The
General George Patton Museum of Leadership (formerly the Patton Museum of Armor and Cavalry) contains the largest collection of Patton artifacts in the world, including personal items used by
General George S. Patton throughout his life.
History
Fortification
Fortifications were constructed near the site in 1861, during the
Civil War when
Fort Duffield was constructed. Fort Duffield was located on what was known as
Muldraugh Hill on a strategic point overlooking the confluence of the
Salt and
Ohio Rivers and the
Louisville and Nashville Turnpike. The area was contested by both
Union and
Confederate forces. Bands of organized guerrillas frequently raided the area during the war.
John Hunt Morgan the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate Army raided the area before staging his famous raid on
Indiana and
Ohio known as
Morgan's Raid.
Post war
After the war, the area now occupied by the Army was home to various small communities. In October 1903, military maneuvers for the Regular Army and the National Guards of several states were held at
West Point, Kentucky and the surrounding area. In April 1918, field artillery units from
Camp Zachary Taylor arrived at West Point for training. near the village of Stithton were leased to the government and construction for a permanent training center was started in July 1918.
New camp
The new camp was named after
Henry Knox, the
Continental Army's chief of artillery during the
Revolutionary War and the country's first
Secretary of War. The camp was extended by the purchase of a further in June 1918 and construction properly began in July 1918. The building program was reduced following the end of the war and reduced further following cuts to the army in 1921 after the
National Defense Act of 1920. The camp was greatly reduced and became a semi-permanent training center for the 5th Corps Area for Reserve Officer training, the National Guard, and Citizen's Military Training Camps (CMTC). For a short while, from 1925 to 1928, the area was designated as "Camp Henry Knox National Forest."
Air Corps usage
The post contains an airfield, called
Godman Army Airfield, that was used by the
United States Army Air Corps, and its successor, the
United States Army Air Forces as a training base during World War II. It was used by the
Kentucky Air National Guard for several years after the war until they relocated to
Standiford Field in
Louisville. The airfield is still in use by the
United States Army Aviation Branch.
Mechanized military unit occupation
, kneeling in front of
M3 Half-track, holds and sights an
M1 Garand rifle. Fort Knox, June 1942.]]
In 1931 a small force of the
mechanized cavalry was assigned to Camp Knox to use it as a training site. The camp was turned into a permanent
garrison in January 1932 and renamed Fort Knox. The
1st Cavalry Regiment arrived later in the month to become the 1st Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized).
In 1936 the 1st was joined by the 13th to become the 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanized). The site quictart of World War II was a major impetus to operations at the fort. A new Armored Force was established in July 1940 with its headquarters at Fort Knox with the 7th Cavalry Brigade becoming the 1st Armored Division. The Armored Force School and the Armored Force Replacement Center were also sited at Fort Knox in October 1940, and their successors remain located there today. The site was expanded to cope with its new role. By 1943, there were 3,820 buildings on . A third of the base has been torn down within the last ten years, with another third slated by 2010.
The Army HR Command Center will be re-located to Fort Knox from the DC/Virginia area beginning in 2009. New facilities are under construction throughout Fort Knox, such as the new Army Human Resource Center, the largest construction project in the history of Fort Knox. It’s a $185 million, three-story, complex of six interconnected buildings, sitting on .
Base realignment and closure
Fort Knox will lose about 4,600 personnel through the departure of the Army Armor Center and School to
Fort Benning, Georgia, as well as the departure of other divisions to different parts of the country.
The Army Human Resources Command with approximately 4,300 mostly civilian personnel has been consolidated at Fort Knox. The new center will combine offices that were located in Virginia, Indiana and Missouri. The 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, with approximately 3,400 personnel, that was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, has been relocated to Fort Knox.
It’s expected that between $800 and $900 million worth of construction will take place at Fort Knox for the BRAC reorganization, and for base modernization projects.
The Fort Knox reorganization will be completed by September 2011.
Fort Knox High School
Fort Knox is one of only three Army posts (the others being
Fort Campbell, Kentucky and
Fort Sam Houston, Texas) that still have a high school located on-post. Fort Knox High School, serving grades 9–12, was built in 1958 and has undergone only a handful of renovations since then; but a new building was completed in 2008.
Current units
3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
19th Engineer Battalion
16th Cavalry Regiment
* 1st Squadron
* 2nd Squadron
* 3rd Squadron
194th Armored Brigade
* 81st Armored Regiment
** 1st Battalion
** 2nd Battalion
** 3rd Battalion
* 15th Cavalry Regiment
** 5th Squadron
* 46th Infantry Regiment
** 1st Battalion
** 2nd Battalion
34th Military Police Detachment
46th Adjutant General Battalion
95th Training Division (formerly 95th Infantry Division)
113th Band
Ireland Army Community Hospital MEDDAC
84th Training Command (UR)
*70th Training Division (FT)
United States Army Recruiting Command
* 3rd Recruiting Brigade
Units & Organizations
Geography
Fort Knox is located at 37°54'09.96" North, 85°57'09.11" West, along the
Ohio River. The depository itself is located at 37°52'59.59" North, 85°57'55.31" West.
According to the Census Bureau, the base CDP has a total area of , of which is land and —0.14%—is water.
Communities near Fort Knox include Brandenburg, Elizabethtown, Hodgenville, Louisville, Radcliff, Shepherdsville, and Vine Grove, Kentucky The Meade County city of Muldraugh is completely surrounded by Fort Knox.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 12,377 people, 2,748 households, and 2,596 families residing on base. The population density was . There were 3,015 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the base was 66.3%
White, 23.1% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.7%
Asian, 0.4%
Pacific Islander, 4.2% from
other races, and 3.6% from two or more races.
Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.4% of the population.
There were 2,748 households out of which 77.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 86.0% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.5% were non-families. 4.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.49 and the average family size was 3.60.
The age distribution was 34.9% under the age of 18, 25.5% from 18 to 24, 37.2% from 25 to 44, 2.3% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 155.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 190.3 males. These statistics are generally typical for military bases.
The median income for a household on the base was US$34,020, and the median income for a family was $33,588. Males had a median income of $26,011 versus $21,048 for females. The per capita income for the base was $12,410. About 5.8% of the population and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under the age of 18 and 100.0% of those 65 and older.
See also
Ireland Army Community Hospital
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area
Elizabethtown, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area
Louisville-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area
List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
References
External links
Official website
Fort Knox area booming
Patton Museum, (at Fort Knox)
Ireland Army Community Hospital, (at Fort Knox)
Satellite photo of the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, click to enlarge
Official Base information from the DOD Military Installations website
Fort Knox Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
Category:Bullitt County, Kentucky
Category:Census-designated places in Kentucky
Knox
Category:Hardin County, Kentucky
Category:Meade County, Kentucky
Knox
Category:United States Army training facilities
Category:Elizabethtown metropolitan area
Category:Louisville metropolitan area
Category:United States Army Corrections Command
Category:Goldfinger (film)
![Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the eastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite.[citation needed] This is the world's only semi-aquatic viper, usually found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes and streams. The snake is a strong swimmer and will even enter the sea, successfully colonizing islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The common names for the species include variants on water, swamp or black 'moccasin', 'viper', 'cottonmouth', and 'rattler'.[2] Many of the common names refer to the threat display, where this species will often stand its ground and gape at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth. The diet consists mainly of fish and frogs, but is otherwise highly varied and, uniquely, has even been reported to include carrion. The specific name is derived from the Latin words piscis and voro, which mean "fish" and "to eat".[3] Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[4]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110831041753im_/http://cdn7.wn.com/ph/img/79/9f/04a8b026c803c72c76d158573e01-medium.jpg "Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the eastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite.[citation needed] This is the world's only semi-aquatic viper, usually found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes and streams. The snake is a strong swimmer and will even enter the sea, successfully colonizing islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The common names for the species include variants on water, swamp or black 'moccasin', 'viper', 'cottonmouth', and 'rattler'.[2] Many of the common names refer to the threat display, where this species will often stand its ground and gape at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth. The diet consists mainly of fish and frogs, but is otherwise highly varied and, uniquely, has even been reported to include carrion. The specific name is derived from the Latin words piscis and voro, which mean \"fish\" and \"to eat\".[3] Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[4]")
