- Joined
- Jun 21, 2012
- Location
- Louisville, KY
Indianapolis Arsenal was a U.S. Army arsenal located ENE of downtown Indianapolis. After the outbreak of the war, Governor Oliver P. Morton recognized the need for a state arsenal, which it lacked up until that time except for a temporary site set up adjacent to the statehouse.
The arsenal was approved by Congress in 1862 and the site was chosen in March of 1863 because of it's central location in the state as well as it's proximity to Indianapolis. Located nearby were multiple Civil War-era camps such as Camp Fremont and Camp Morton (which also served as a POW camp). The then-75 acre site was also not in a populated area at the time and as such, did not disrupt day-to-day life in Indianapolis.
(Main arsenal building. The tower featured a lift with access to all three floors)
Construction began that same year under the supervision of Captain Thomas Treadwell, the arsenal's first commanding officer. Most of the original buildings were completed between 1864 and 1872 with the first troops arriving to garrison the arsenal in 1865. The normal garrison for the post comprised of around 50 enlisted men and officers. The primary function of the post was for the storage of various pieces of artillery and small arms.
(Enlisted barracks, completed in 1867)
The post was active up through the Spanish-American War but the need for such an arsenal, especially as the city began to expand around it, caused the post to be closed by the U.S. government in 1903 and the site was auctioned off.
In November of 1904 the arsenal became the Winona Technical & Agricultural Institute which was part of Winona College located in Winona Lake, Indiana. This institute would be short lived as the parent school went bankrupt by 1910.
However, education would continue to be the site's purpose as it reopened as Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School in September of 1912.
(A post card of the campus in 1922)
Today, Arsenal Tech is still a functioning high school and many of the original buildings have been repurposed. The enlisted barracks now serves as the school's JROTC building and the building which housed the officer's quarters is now a student-run public restaurant. Other original remaining structures include the main arsenal building, magazine, stables and the guard house which still guards the main gates to this unique high school. The arsenal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The arsenal was approved by Congress in 1862 and the site was chosen in March of 1863 because of it's central location in the state as well as it's proximity to Indianapolis. Located nearby were multiple Civil War-era camps such as Camp Fremont and Camp Morton (which also served as a POW camp). The then-75 acre site was also not in a populated area at the time and as such, did not disrupt day-to-day life in Indianapolis.
(Main arsenal building. The tower featured a lift with access to all three floors)
(Enlisted barracks, completed in 1867)
The post was active up through the Spanish-American War but the need for such an arsenal, especially as the city began to expand around it, caused the post to be closed by the U.S. government in 1903 and the site was auctioned off.
In November of 1904 the arsenal became the Winona Technical & Agricultural Institute which was part of Winona College located in Winona Lake, Indiana. This institute would be short lived as the parent school went bankrupt by 1910.
However, education would continue to be the site's purpose as it reopened as Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School in September of 1912.
(A post card of the campus in 1922)
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