Fort Detrick, Maryland — History & Visitor Guide

Fort Detrick (Frederick, Maryland)

Frederick · Maryland · World War II and Cold War

Quick BriefFort Detrick began as Detrick Field in 1931, a Maryland National Guard airfield named after flight surgeon Frederick Louis Detrick who served in World War I. In March 1943, the facility was redesignated Camp Detrick and the U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories were established, pioneering research into biocontainment and decontamination. In 1969, President Richard Nixon ended the nation's offensive biological warfare program.

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History & Significance

The post originated in 1931 when the Frederick airport was renamed Detrick Field and designated part of the Maryland National Guard. It was named for Frederick Louis Detrick, a Frederick County native who served as a U.S. Army flight surgeon during World War I and later joined the Maryland National Guard's 29th Division Air Service as a respected surgeon and Johns Hopkins faculty member.

On 9 March 1943, the government purchased 154 acres and re-christened the facility "Camp Detrick," establishing the U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories, which pioneered research into biocontainment, decontamination, gaseous sterilization, and agent purification. During World War II, Camp Detrick became the site of intensive biological warfare research using various pathogens, originally overseen by pharmaceuticals executive George W. Merck and conducted by Ira L. Baldwin, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin.

Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. On November 25, 1969, Nixon made a statement outlawing offensive biological research in the United States.

The Frederick National Cancer Research and Development Center was established in 1971 on a 69-acre parcel ceded by the installation. Since the discontinuation of the offensive program, the fort has hosted most elements of the United States biological defense program, with its 1,200-acre campus supporting a multi-governmental community conducting biomedical research and development, medical materiel management, and global medical communications.

Key Facts

StateMaryland

LocationFrederick

Established1931

War / eraWorld War II and Cold War

Current statusActive military

Coordinates39.4356, -77.4272

Fort Detrick (Frederick, Maryland)

History & Significance

Key Facts

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