Structure Type: military buildings - fortresses

Designers: [unspecified]

Dates: [unspecified]

Wilmington, Los Angeles, CA

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Building History

At the start of the Civil War in 1861, some residents of Southern CA feared that this region would side with the Confederacy or push for state independence. In order to provide a Union military bulwark, Camp Drum was erected during late 1861-1863, The Army built 19 structures at Camp Drum in Wilmington, CA. and possessed an additional parcel of 37 acres on the city's harbor.

Camp Drum served the Union Army as its Southwest command center for California and Arizona at the start of the Civil War. Local landowners, Phineas Banning (1830-1885) and Senator Benjamin Wilson (1811-1878), donated adjoining properties comprising 60 acres for the Union encampment, which was decommisioned in 1871. The presence of the camp helped to enrich Banning through the Army's patronage of his Wilmington businesses. In all, the US Army spent approximately $1 million to develop this encampment.

Decommissioned in 1871.

PCAD id: 9876