Fort Hunter Liggett (Jolon, Monterey County, California)

Jolon, Monterey County · California

History & Significance

The War Department purchased over 200,000 acres of ranch lands between the Salinas River valley divide and the Pacific Ocean in 1940, in anticipation of training soldiers for World War II European fronts. The fort was named in 1941 after General Hunter Liggett, a commander who served as a chief of staff under General John J. Pershing during World War I. The property included ranchos purchased by William Randolph Hearst, with the Hacienda constructed during his ownership and designed by architect Julia Morgan.

Fort Hunter Liggett fell under Camp Roberts authority until 1952, when it became a sub-installation of Fort Ord. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, it served as a training area for the 7th Light Infantry Division and housed the Training and Experimentation Command, which evaluated Army and Marine Corps weapons systems—the Sgt. York anti-aircraft gun was found to have serious flaws while the Marine's Light Armored Vehicle was validated.

In 2007, the Army created the Combat Support Training Center and increased training from approximately 300,000 man-days annually to over 850,000 per year. The installation continues to serve as the largest Army Reserve installation with 160,000 acres for year-round training that resembles 20 percent of the world's terrain.

Map

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Sources

• https://home.army.mil/liggett/about/history
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hunter_Liggett
• https://militarybaseguides.com/fort-hunter-liggett
• https://www.militarymuseum.org/FtHLiggett.html
• https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/items/00c28beb-cbdc-4d9b-9e2d-22c59af3c8c4

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