Real photograph postcard (RPPC), circa July 1917 to July 1918. This image shows the Pacific Highway and the Northern Pacific Railway near Camp Lewis, Washington. The Arsenal at Camp Murray is in the distance (Author’s Collection).
Any driver familiar with the frequently congested section of Interstate 5 between Olympia and Tacoma will likely be very surprised to see what that part of road looked like over 100 years ago. Between July 1917 and July 1918, a photographer stood just to the south of what was then called the Pacific Highway and captured this image, which shows a long stretch of open road running between the north boundary of Camp Lewis and the Northern Pacific Railway line. The photographer also happened to capture an early image of Camp Murray, which appears in the far background near the center of the photograph. Camp Murray is the headquarters of the Washington Military Department (WMD), which is a branch of the Washington state government. The WMD consists of several different operational divisions, including the Washington Army National Guard and Washington Air National Guard (Washington Military Department 2021).
CAMP MURRAY
In 1889, Washington became the 42nd state to be admitted to the Union. The Washington State legislature enacted a tax levy to pay for the Military Department of Washington, which was expected to raise about $40,000 in annual revenue (about $1.15 million in 2021 dollars). Shortly after the enactment of the tax levy, Brigadier General Rossell G. O’Brien, Adjutant General of the Washington National Guard, began making preparations for a Brigade Encampment during the summer of 1890. This encampment was held on land near American Lake which would eventually become Camp Murray. General O’Brien reported a final cost for the encampment of $20,319.33, or about $585,000 in 2021 dollars, which included pay for the officers and enlisted men (Washington National Guard 1959).
The 1890 encampment of the Washington National Guard was located on the banks of American Lake south of Murray Creek, which was named after an early European American family that settled in the area. By late June 1890, construction of the Tacoma, Olympia & Gray’s Harbor Railway line had progressed to the extent that the encampment site could be reached by rail from Tacoma, and by August 1891, the entire rail line between Lakeview and Olympia was completed (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 21 Jun. 1890:2; Robertson 1995; Washington National Guard 1959). The railroad, a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railway, established Murray station on its new line just south of Murray Creek, about nineteen miles northeast of Olympia and about twelve miles southwest of Tacoma. The 1890 encampment location was used again for the 1892 Washington National Guard summer camp. The new railroad service to the site was ideal for the moving of men, horses, and materiel, and the natural features of the site and proximity to American Lake also made Murray an ideal location for the encampment (Washington National Guard 1959).
After the 1892 summer camp, General O’Brien concluded that a permanent location should be established for the Washington National Guard encampments. In his biannual report to the Governor, the Adjutant General stated that the creation of a permanent installation would be more cost effective to the state, since the massive amount of military equipment typically used during the encampment could be securely stored in one location and not require transportation to the site before and after the event. General O’Brien recommended that the state locate and purchase a suitable site for a permanent camp, but no further action was taken following his report (Washington National Guard 1959).
The Washington National Guard held the 1894 summer camp at Woodland, about four miles east of Olympia, which was located on the same Tacoma, Olympia & Gray’s Harbor Railway line that served Murray. However, a nationwide railroad strike delayed by several days the arrival of units from east of the Cascade Mountains, and there was insufficient equipment to accommodate the over 1,400 personnel who participated in the event. The 1894 encampment also exceeded the appropriation available to the Military Department of Washington and created a deficit of about $20,000, or about $616,000 in 2021 dollars. General O’Brien retired in 1895, and the next encampment of the Washington National Guard did not take place until 1902, when a ten-day-long summer camp was held at Murray (Washington National Guard 1959).
Adjutant General O’Brien’s recommendation of 1892 was not implemented until 1903, when the State of Washington purchased two parcels containing 220 acres of land in Sections 20 and 21, Township 19 North, Range 2 East, Willamette Meridian. The newly established Camp Murray was located within the Frederick Rabjohns donation land claim. Rabjohns, also spelled as Rabjohn or Ropjohns, depending on the source, was a crew member of the Albion, a British vessel seized by the United States customs officials for violating tax regulations. After the Albion was condemned and sold at auction in November 1850, Rabjohns remained in what was then Oregon Territory (Washington National Guard 1959). He claimed 319.10 acres in October 1852 under the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850 (BLM 2021).
In October 1855, Rabjohns enlisted in Company D, 1st Washington Territorial Militia Regiment, commanded by Captain William H. Wallace, who later became one of Washington’s territorial governors. During the Puget Sound War of 1855-1856, Rabjohns’ regiment fought alongside United States Army regulars stationed at Fort Steilacoom. Frederick Rabjohns received the final patent to his land claim in December 1880, and eventually sold off portions of his land claim to John Murray and James Reams before he died in 1889 (BLM 2021; Washington National Guard 1959; Washington Standard 5 Jul. 1889:1).
1882 Cadastral Survey Map showing the Frederick Rabjohns land claim. The present-day locations of Interstate 5 and the Arsenal are also indicated (Illustration by Author).
In retrospect, the acquisition of the Camp Murray site was a bargain. The state paid $6,600 for the 220 acres of land, which is about $199,000 in 2021 dollars (Washington National Guard 1959). By 1914, it was estimated at the value of the land was between $250 and $500 per acre, or about $6,600 to $13,250 per acre in 2021 dollars (Seattle Daily Times 13 Nov. 1914:19). Additional transactions between November 1918 and October 1932 increased the total area of Camp Murray to about 231 acres, including Barlow Island in American Lake (Washington National Guard 1959). For purposes of comparison, tax valuations for land just outside of the Camp Murray boundary are currently around $743,000 per acre (Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer 2021).
1914 Map of Pierce County, with the Camp Murray boundaries indicated. The present-day locations of Interstate 5 and the Arsenal are also indicated (Illustration by Author).
THE ARSENAL
After Camp Murray was established in 1903, the Washington National Guard summer camps were held there annually. After Governor Samuel G. Cosgrove died in March 1909, the Murray railroad station was renamed “Cosgrove” in his honor, and a Western Union telegraph office was established there in August 1910 (Spokane Chronicle 18 Aug. 1910:5; Washington National Guard 1959). Even though Camp Murray was the permanent encampment location, the field equipment, tents, and wagons used during each annual summer camp were stored at the State Arsenal in Seattle and shipped back and forth each year (Washington National Guard 1959).
In 1914, Adjutant General Maurice Thompson recommended that a fireproof warehouse be constructed at Camp Murray to house the encampment field equipment (Seattle Daily Times 13 Nov. 1914:19; Washington National Guard 1959). The Tacoma architectural firm of Heath & Gove prepared the plans for the building, and bids for the work were opened in June 1915 (Building and Engineering News 16 Jun. 1915:13; Leavenworth Echo 11 Jun. 1915:4; Western Engineering Jun. 1915:533). The Far West Clay Construction Company of Tacoma was awarded the $17,320 building contract the following month (Western Engineering Jul. 1915:44).
The two-story-tall, concrete and clay tile warehouse was substantially completed by September 1915, and the building was already being partially used for storage (Seattle Daily Times 17 Sep. 1915:19). In November 1915, Major Frank T. Liggett, Chief Clerk of the Adjutant General’s office, inspected the completed building. Major Liggett also conducted an inventory of the Arsenal contents, which had been placed under the care of the Adjutant General’s Storekeeper, Corporal Edward O. Free (Seattle Daily Times 26 Nov. 1915:17; 3 Dec. 1915:21). The following June, Major Liggett was transferred to the Quartermaster Corps from the Inspector General’s Department and made Quartermaster of the Arsenal (Seattle Daily Times 2 Jun. 1916:15).
At the close of 1915, Brigadier General A.L. Mills, United States Army, Chief of the Division of Military Affairs, enthusiastically declared that the Washington National Guard was the only state militia that was completed armed, equipped, and uniformed for immediate field service. General Mills singled out the new Arsenal for praise as well and complimented the efforts of the Adjutant General to store securely the equipment that the United States War Department regularly provided to the state (Seattle Daily Times 31 Dec. 1915:7).
Historic photograph of the Arsenal (Building 2) at Camp Murray, 1921. Public domain image courtesy of the Tacoma Public Library Northwest Room Collection.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH
Of the two military installations along the Pacific Highway, there were far more photographs taken of Camp Lewis than there were of Camp Murray, which makes the postcard image all that more important as a document of a relatively brief moment of time. A tight crop of the postcard image reveals additional details about the highway, railroad line, and the installation at Camp Murray. Two cars are on the highway, heading toward Tacoma, which is about twelve miles to the northeast. The larger of the two buildings is the Arsenal (now known as Building 2), and the smaller building is the Northern Pacific Railway’s Cosgrove station. There are two sidings off the Northern Pacific Railway mainline: one is a passing siding on the south side of the mainline, and the other siding is located on the north side and serves the Arsenal building loading dock. Other details include the Camp Murray flagpole, tents, trucks, and an enclosed ramp used to load cavalry horses and other military livestock onto railroad cars.
Tight crop of the real photograph postcard. The Arsenal is at the center of the image. Other features, such as Cosgrove Station, flagpole, livestock loading ramp, and the Pacific Highway are also labeled (Illustration by the Author).
CONCLUSION
Two years after the construction of the Arsenal (present-day Building 2), Heath & Gove were hired to design an additional warehouse and wagon shed at Camp Murray (The American Architect 30 May 1917:18). A residence for the Adjutant General (present-day Building 118) was completed by 1921, and the following year the Office of the Adjutant General was relocated to Camp Lewis. A new concrete and clay tile Headquarters Building (present-day Building 1) was completed several years later, and in February 1928 the Office of Adjutant General relocated to that building from Camp Lewis. Camp Murray developed rapidly after the late 1920s, and many additional buildings and structures were built during the next several decades (Washington National Guard 1959).
In addition to the 1928 Headquarters Building (Building 1), the 1915 Arsenal (Building 2), and the 1921 Adjutant General’s residence (Building 118) there are four additional buildings which have been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as part of a potential historic district. These include the Artillery and Tent Warehouse (Building 7), Original Greenhouse (Building 23), Cottage (Building 24), and Building 26, the Fire Station (Gorman Preservation Associates/Tierra Right of Way Services 2020). The distinctive Arsenal and Headquarters buildings stand proudly as highly visible and significant landmarks to drivers along Interstate 5, even though many of the drivers have no idea that the buildings were originally located in much quieter and bucolic surroundings.
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