Bridge of the Past

Wooldridge Ferry Bridge
This bridge sits on the Fort Knox Reservation and was once linked to a thriving community.  The area is now only accessible one day each year on Memorial Day when family can return to visit any one of the 121 cemeteries that now exist on government property.


Fortification

Fortifications were constructed near the site in 1861, during the Civil War when Fort Duffield was constructed. Fort Duffield was located on what was known as Muldraugh Hill on a strategic point overlooking the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers and the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike. The area was contested by both Union and Confederate forces. Bands of organized guerrillas frequently raided the area during the war. John Hunt Morgan the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate Army raided the area before staging his famous raid on Indiana and Ohio known as Morgan's Raid.

Post war

After the war, the area now occupied by the Army was home to various small communities. In October 1903, military maneuvers for the Regular Army and the National Guards of several states were held at West Point, Kentucky and the surrounding area. In April 1918, field artillery units from Camp Zachary Taylor arrived at West Point for training. 10,000 acres near the village of Stithton were leased to the government and construction for a permanent training center was started in July 1918.

New Camp

The new camp was named after Henry Knox, the Continental Army's chief of artillery during the Revolutionary War and the country's first Secretary of War. The camp was extended by the purchase of a further 40,000 acres in June 1918 and construction properly began in July 1918. The building program was reduced following the end of the war and reduced further following cuts to the army in 1921 after the National Defense Act of 1920. The camp was greatly reduced and became a semi-permanent training center for the 5th Corps Area for Reserve Officer training, the National Guard, and Citizen's Military Training Camps (CMTC). For a short while, from 1925 to 1928, the area was designated as "Camp Henry Knox National Forest."

Source: Wikipedia
Image by M Smith