Quadrangle, The
Grayson St., Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TXThe Quadrangle has been the symbol and focal point for military operations in Texas and much of the Southwestern United States since l879. The Quadrangle, consisting of the main building (also called the Quadrangle), 8.8 acres of land, and the Clock Tower, have witnessed the planning of military operations which vary from Indian Wars, to the Spanish American War, through World Wars I and II and the Korean War to the Vietnam Conflict.
In the late 1860's several Texas cities were in competition to have a military post located nearby. The City of San Antonio obtained 40 acres in 1870 to present to the military for the establishment of a military post. How-ever, it was not until I876 when construction finally started on the Quadrangle. The six year delay forms an interesting insight into many of that eras more important people. Generals Philip H. Sheridan, Albert Meyers, Meigs, Reynolds, Secretary of War William North Belnap, President Grant and various city and state officials all played a role in the final decision to construct the Quadrangle. During the six year delay between I870 and I876, the location of the Quadrangle had become a personal matter for many of the above people.
On May 31, I876, bids for the construction of a Quartermaster Depot on the new Military Reservation were opened. The contract was awarded to a San Antonio firm, Ed Braden & Company, for the sum of $83,900.00. The south wing of the present Quadrangle and the Water Tower, now a dock Tower, were the buildings involved, and the work was well under way by the end of August 1876.
On 22 December 1879 Brevet General 0. C. Ord took command of the newly constructed Quadrangle. The Quadrangle served as a Quartermaster Depot until World War I.
An imposing landmark on the post is the 87-foot watchtower which doubled as a water tower. It was converted to a clock tower in 1882 and still stands today in the park-like area of the original stone quadrangle. Near the top of the tower is a stone tablet, built into the wall, containing the inscription "In Peace Prepare for War."
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.