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Fort Douglas and the U

The University of Utah owes its history, and most of its future, to Fort Douglas.

Through the Years

1862

Founded in 1862 by a United States trying to defend the western frontier and keep an eye on Utah’s Mormon settlers, the fort at one time stretched over 10,500 acres along the eastern bench of Salt Lake City—from 900 South to 6th Avenue, and from 1300 East to the mouth of Emigration Canyon.

164 Years

Over its 164-year history, Fort Douglas was the base for U.S. Army operations in Utah; a training ground for new recruits during World War I and II, Vietnam and the wars in the Middle East; and a space where prisoners of war were held.

1904

As those military operations shifted to modern facilities at the south end of Salt Lake County, Fort Douglas downsized and the university grew. The U received its first 60 acres of Fort Douglas land in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War, two years after Utah became a state. Established nearly 50 years earlier as the University of Deseret, the institution did not have a permanent home until the acquisition. In 1900, the first classes were taught at the new site.

In 1904, another 32 acres were granted to the institution for Presidents Circle, the oldest part of campus.

Growing the University

Over time, unused military barracks housed university operations for parking, campus safety, facilities and fleet. Successive land transfers resulted in development of this is the Place State Park, Shriner’s Hospital, the Veterans Administration Hospital, Hogle Zoo, and Mount Olivet Cemetery. On campus, former fort land became home to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, the Natural History Museum of Utah, University Research Park and the university’s health sciences campus, including University Hospital, Moran Eye Center and Primary Children’s Hospital. During the 2002 Winter Games, the fort’s Officers Circle and its original sandstone buildings served as the Olympic Athletes Village.

New Beginnings

Finally, in 2026, with the support of Utah’s elected leaders, the university completed a $127 million, 220,000-square-foot U.S. Army Reserve headquarters at Camp Williams in Bluffdale. With all military personnel moved out of the fort, the remaining 50 acres of fort land will be granted to the university.

In The News

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Campus history worth preserving

Jul 31, 2026 | @theU

Campus history worth preserving

Fort Douglas is a living record of Utah and American military history that continues to shape the University of Utah.