Fort Knox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Knox is a United States Army post and census-designated place in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade Counties and extends over 109,054 acres (441 km²), containing a daily population of about 32,000 and a total base population of 12,377 (9,294 in Hardin County and 3,083 in Meade County). It holds the U.S. Army Armor Center, the U.S. Army Armor School and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. It is also the site of the United States Bullion Depository and the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor, both located on or near the army post. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Fortification
Fortifications were constructed at the site in 1861, during the Civil War when Fort Duffield was founded. The area was contested by both Union and Confederate forces.
[edit] Post war
After the war, the site fell into disuse. The area was revived for military operations in 1918, 10,000 acres (40 km²) near to the village of Stithton were leased to the government and a training center was established on the site in January 1918.
[edit] New camp
The new camp was named after Henry Knox, a general of artillery during the American Revolutionary War and the country's first Secretary of War. The camp was extended by the purchase of a further 40,000 acres (162 km²) 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.
[edit] Mechanized military unit occupation
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 re-named 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 quickly became the centre for mechanization tactics and doctrine. The success of the German mechanized units at the start of World War II were 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 1st Cavalry 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 106,861 acres (432 km²). A third of the base has been torn down within the last ten years, with another third slated by 2010.
The United States Department of the Treasury has maintained the United States Bullion Depository on the post since 1937. This facility is operated by the Treasury Department and is independent of the Army's operations there. However, it is likely that the post's security forces would assist the Treasury Department's security staff if needed.
[edit] Current uses
Fort Knox is one of the places where the Army conducts Basic Combat Training and it is home to Army ROTC Leader's Training Course, and is used by both the Army and the US Marine Corps to train crews on the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. From 1960 to 1994 the post was home to the 194th Armored Brigade, which, amongst other duties, assisted Armored School training.
[edit] Geography
Fort Knox is located at 37°53'34" North, 85°58'29" West (37.892809, -85.974709)GR1, along the Ohio River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the portion of the base occupied by housing has a total area of 54.2 km² (20.9 mi²). 54.2 km² (20.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.14% water.
The history of George Patton's armor division, which was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, is being transferred down to Fort Benning, Georgia. Fort Knox will only support infantry training and the Patton Museum. Fort Knox will no longer serve as training ground for the United States armor division.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 12,377 people, 2,748 households, and 2,596 families residing on the base. The population density is 228.4/km² (591.7/mi²). There are 3,015 housing units at an average density of 55.6/km² (144.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 66.32% White, 23.08% African American, 0.73% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.44% Pacific Islander, 4.17% from other races, and 3.63% from two or more races. 10.35% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,748 households out of which 77.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 86.0% are married couples living together, 6.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 5.5% are non-families. 4.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.49 and the average family size is 3.60.
The age distribution is: 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 155.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 190.3 males. All these statistics are typical for a military base.
The median income for a household on the base is $34,020, and the median income for a family is $33,588. Males have a median income of $26,011 versus $21,048 for females. The per capita income for the base is $12,410. 6.6% of the population and 5.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.6% of those under the age of 18 and 100.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Cinema
- The 1951 Abbott & Costello movie Comin' Round The Mountain has the two using a treasure map to find a stash of gold. When they finally get to the gold at the end of the film, they find themselves in the middle of Fort Knox, and are immediately arrested.
- The 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger featured Fort Knox at the center of its plot, with Bond attempting to foil a scheme nicknamed "Operation Grand Slam" to detonate a nuclear device there and cripple the country's economy. The movie was set before the United States dollar ceased to be backed by the gold standard in 1971.[1]
- Portions of the 1981 comedy film Stripes were filmed at Fort Knox, making use of older World War II-era barracks to simulate a base in Czechoslovakia. The majority of those barracks have since been torn down, although some remain and are used today for urban training.
- The film Battlefield Earth, an adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's novel, featured Fort Knox in the future. The gold in the Bullion Reserve is still intact and is used by the captured humans to meet the quotas of the Psychlonian overseers when they demand that gold be mined.
[edit] Conspiracy theories
A popular and recurring conspiracy theory, initiated by Dr Peter Beter and further alleged by Edward Durrell, Tom Valentine and others, claims that most of the gold in Fort Knox was sent to London in the late 1960s by Lyndon Johnson.[2][3][4] In response, on September 23, 1974, Senator Walter Huddleston of Kentucky, 12 congressmen, and about 100 members of the news media toured the vault. They opened a cell door which had been sealed with seven seals since it was first delivered there, over 30 years earlier. This revealed a room filled with gold, approximately 36,000 bars weighing over 11 million troy ounces. Radio reporter Bill Evans, when asked if it seemed like the gold might have been moved in just for the visit, replied "all I can say is that I saw gold there" and that it seemed like it was always there. Audits of the gold by the General Accounting Office (in cooperation with the United States Mint and the United States Customs Service) in 1974 and the Treasury Department from 1975 to 1981 found no discrepancies between the reported and actual amounts of gold at the Depository.[5] Approximately 10% of the bullion is audited annually to ensure the amount and purity matches official records.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058150/
- ^ http://www.minesite.com/storyFull5.php?storySeq=3350
- ^ http://www.fgmr.com/right2know.htm
- ^ http://www.skolnicksreport.com/hoodwink.html
- ^ http://www.goldensextant.com/Resources%20PDF/Gold%20Commission%20Report%20Annex%20D.pdf
[edit] See also
- United States Bullion Depository
- List of attractions and events in Louisville
- List of cities and towns along the Ohio River
[edit] External links
- US Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, KY
- Satellite photo of the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, click to enlarge
- Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor (at Fort Knox)
- Fort Knox history
- Official Base information from the DOD Military Installations website
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
