Commissary Storehouse

Commissary Storehouse. . This his building was constructed in the early 1870's to serve as the post commissary storehouse. The commissary function was originally assigned to another facility on the southwest corner of the quadrangle, but the need for Infantry barracks by 1872 prompted construction of new commissary and quartermaster buildings off the quadrangle. , The commissary storehouse was filled with sacks, barrels, and boxes containing the foodstuffs necessary to feed a frontier garrison. The commissary sergeant supplied all the food, transported three-hundred miles from the railhead in Kansas, to feed the soldiers, employees, and families of Fort Sill. These rations were supplemented with locally grown vegetables and beef from Texas., The interior flooring was originally level with the loading platform at the rear of the building, permitting off-loading from wagons. The dirt-floored basement provided storage for less perishable tools and equipment. The large timbers along the walls in the east end of the building, as well as the lowered floor, resulted from its use as a gun and tractor shop beginning in 1922. The beams supported a large traveling crane used to lift heavy gun parts. , Captions , Lower Center: Ox drawn supply wagons in rear of the commissary storehouse. , Middle Right: Floorplan of commissary storehouse as it appeared in the 1870's.