McClellan JPA News: State Historical Assoc. tours McClellan landmarks

State Historical Association tours McClellan landmarks

By Dan Whisenhunt
Anniston Star Staff Writer, 10-14-2007

Fort McClellan’s history as a military base was shaped by politics and the economy, according to a military historian.

Its story is one of gender, race and the good things the base did for Anniston.

It’s history worth preserving, David Childress said Saturday.

Childress, a military historian, spoke at the 50th annual fall pilgrimage of the Alabama Historical Association, which this year brought history buffs to McClellan.

Members came from all over the state to tour historic sites on the former military base.

The stable at McClellan where the Army once kept horses is part of what is now the Longleaf Village arts complex. Photo: Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

As the Joint Powers Authority redeveloping McClellan replaces jobs lost when the fort closed in 1999, it shouldn’t forget what McClellan was, Childress said.

“I would encourage anybody to salvage as much of this history as they can,” he said. “We don’t need to live on history but we need to remember the past.”

The military first saw the potential of the land that became Fort McClellan in 1898. Troops training on the north end of Noble Street for the Spanish-American War saw the hills east of Blue Mountain as a perfect place for a firing range. After the war ended, the Alabama National Guard used it for this purpose, Childress said.

Alabama Congressman Fred Blackmon was the first to push for an Army base in Calhoun County, Childress said. In 1917 Blackmon persuaded Congress to spend $247,000 for 18,952 acres of what was then known as “The Dark Corner.”

Days later, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on the Central Powers and marked America’s entry into World War I. The Anniston Chamber of Commerce borrowed $136,000 to pay farmers who were told they could plant their crops on the property when the base was sold.

The chamber paid off the loan until 1934. Congress never repaid Anniston for its trouble, Childress said.

Now Anniston is swimming in federal money to clean up McClellan. Anniston Mayor Chip Howell recently signed a deal with the Army securing the more than $200 million to remove old munitions and unexploded ordnance left behind by the Army.

Howell told the audience that McClellan, once an Army base within a city, is now a 50- to 60-year development project for Anniston.

“You’re at McClellan, which is Anniston, Alabama,” Howell said.

The name “McClellan” is an exception to the tradition of naming Southern military bases after Southern generals, Childress said.

He said George Brinton McClellan was a Union general who hailed from Pennsylvania and was considered a hero in the Mexican War. He unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat, but did become a popular New Jersey governor.

Why McClellan was named for a Union general and New Jersey governor is anyone’s guess, Childress said.

He said over the years as America got into more wars Fort McClellan’s importance as a training ground waxed and waned in favor with elected leaders.

But McClellan also held a social sway over the community. Soldiers stationed here settled in Anniston and became important members of the community, he said.

“The role of the Women’s Army Corps (at McClellan) over the almost 40 years of its existence helped to advance the perception of gender equality in American society, and the federal government used the threat of economic sanctions by military commanders to encourage a reluctant South to end racial segregation,” Childress said.

After the meeting, Joby Walker ate lunch in Remington Hall and talked about growing up near McClellan’s prisoner of war camp. He learned to swim there during the summers.

He said he has mixed emotions about McClellan now.

“I think it’s real progress as far as the city of Anniston is concerned,” he said, noting the redevelopment of the base has not always been a smooth process.

Joanne Bruer, from Jacksonville, said there’s a feeling among older county residents that the “Fort” should be put back into Fort McClellan’s name. Many of the signs and advertisements for the redevelopment leave off the military title.

“McClellan has no history,” Bruer said. “Fort McClellan has history.”