Fort Missoula, about 1941. The fort was established in 1877 at the request of area settlers who feared Indian attacks, but served almost no military purpose until World War II. Then, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service used it to house Italian prisoners of war and Japanese-American internees. The rows of barracks on the right were constructed in 1941 to house those individuals. The fort was chosen for its remote, inland location—and it was remote even from Missoula. Other buildings visible in this image date were constructed about 1915. (82-220, James Murray Papers, K. Ross Toole Archives, The University of Montana—Missoula)

No active military units have been assigned to the Fort since 1947. The barracks were mostly torn down in the 1950s, with a few moved to the Western Montana Fairgrounds for re-use. The fate of this large piece of land has been debated since before World War II, with a tug-of-war over whether it should be developed or retained as open space. In 1976, a year after the founding of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, the area was designated Missoula’s first National Register of Historic Places historic district. In 2000, the Fort was formally decommissioned, with control of the parade grounds and surrounding buildings passed to the Northern Rockies Heritage Center. Many of the historic structures—and the water tower from which this photograph was taken—remain intact. (Photo by Chris Autio, 2006)