Fort Ord:
his former mainly military community is located on the historically rich Monterey Bay Peninsula in
central California. It borders with the city of Marina to the north and Sand City to the south and is
only a few miles away from the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove. The agricultural community of
Salinas is 14 miles to the east, while San Francisco is 115 miles further to the north.
In it's hey-day, Fort Ord covered over 28,600 acres. The local topography made it ideal as an infantry
training center for the military, which would become it's primary mission. The history of Fort Ord began
during the Mexican-American War in 1846 after which Commodore John Drake Sloat claimed the Monterey area
and all of California for the United States. From 1852 to 1898 the fort was in disuse. While visiting
the area in 1879, writer Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote, "The beaches are white with weathered whale
bones." This would later become the training areas of Fort Ord. In 1917 the US Army purchased from a Mr.
David Jacks the title to what is known today as the East Garrison. As it developed, Fort Ord was
considered one of the nation's permanent Army posts. The post was named after Major General Edward
Cresap Ord. General Ord's fame in history books includes some information on being an Indian fighter. In
1847 he was a lieutenant with Maj. Gen. J C Fremont's Army when the present site of the nearby Presidio
of Monterey was brought into existence.