Building 1372

Building 1372. . This Wagon Scales Building was built in 1918 with a weighing platform on its south side. The building was part of Forage Yard No. 1, which provisioned cavalry horses from 1919 until 1943. Two granaries, a small stone latrine and eleven open haysheds were also part of the initial Forage Yard 1. Three of the open haysheds were combined and survive as Building 1208 as well as one of the granaries, Building 1361. Forage Yard No. 1 did not only serve Fort Bliss, but also the Army units stationed from Douglas, Arizona to the Texas Big Bend., Disturbances along the U.S.-Mexican border stemming from the Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1921) led to a string of outposts on the border with Fort bliss, as the nation's premier Army post along the border, the logistic and supply center for the Army's Mexican Border Zone. Fort Bliss' 1st Cavalry Division patrolled the border to deter bandits from crossing into the U.S. Since the horse was the best way of traversing the border's rough terrain, the the 1st Cavalry Division continued to patrol the border through the 1930s. Fort Bliss became the largest cavalry post in the U.S. and eventually the last active cavalry post in the U.S. Army., This Wagon Scales Building was used to weight wagons carrying forage for the horses and mules supplied by Forage Yard No. 1. A Fairbanks weighting scale designed to weigh items up to 60,000 pounds is located in the building. Trucks replaced wagons in 1941. At that time the Army's El Paso District had 8,000 horses consuming 40 tons of oats daily. In 1943 the 1st Cavalry Division was dismounted ending the need for Building 1372. Building 1372 was renovated in 2007 as part of the construction of the nearby commissary.