U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum

United States Army Quartermaster Museum

Quartermaster Branch Insignia on the side of the museum
Established 1957
Location 1201 22nd Street, Bldg. 5218 Fort Lee, Virginia, USA
Visitors 70,000[1]
Director Paul Morando
Website United States Army Quartermaster Museum

The United States Army Quartermaster Museum, located at Fort Lee, Virginia, is an AAM accredited museum in the Commonwealth of Virginia.[2] The museum's aim is to preserve and exhibit the history of the Quartermaster Corps, which was formed in 1775 and to date it has collected more than 24,000 items.[3] The Museum also serves the Quartermaster Center and School as a classroom for the teaching of history, educating more than 16,000 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and officers a year.[4]

Museum history

The museum’s beginnings can be traced back to 1953 when the Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia organized a collection of reproduction period uniforms for use in the school’s courses of instruction on uniform fitting and sizing. In 1954 two World War II vintage buildings were opened to house the uniforms. This popular classroom exhibit was often referred to as the “museum”.

The museum was officially established in February 1957, with these uniforms and donations of quartermaster related items forming the core of the collection. Several artifacts came from the major former Quartermaster Depots at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jeffersonville, Indiana; and the Quartermaster Remount Depot at Front Royal, Virginia.

The 20,000 square foot main museum building was completed in June 1963. Construction was funded by private contributions and loans to the Quartermaster Memorial Corporation (now the Army Quartermaster Foundation, Inc.). Upon completion the building was donated to the U.S. Government.

The museum building was dedicated in 1976 to honor of Brigadier General John A. Spencer, Jr. General Spencer was instrumental in the establishment of the museum.

Fund raising efforts by the Army Quartermaster Foundation, Inc., have resulted in several expansions of the original museum building.

In October 1993, the museum added a 100 seat multipurpose auditorium dedicated to Major General Robert M. Littlejohn. Littlejohn was the World War II Quartermaster for the European Theater of Operations and tireless supporter of the museum.

In June 1998 a research and learning center was completed and dedicated to Major General Joseph E. Peklik, the driving force behind fund raising for this expansion effort. This addition houses the museum curator, library, archival storage, conservation laboratory and collection study area.

The most noticeable feature of the exterior of the museum building is the large iconic three-dimensional representation of the Quartermaster branch insignia. Constructed by Lakeshore Markers of Erie, Pennsylvania, it is often used as the background for group photos by visitors and various organizations on Fort Lee.

Significant artifacts

The Quartermaster Museum has several unique, “National Treasures” in its collection. They include:

References

  1. "About the Museum". Army Quartermaster Museum. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  2. Bob Dart (1992-12-06). "It's Nutty but this Museum Spreads Peanut Lore". The Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  3. Tim O'Gorman (2005). "Treasures of the Quartermaster Museum, 50 Years of Collecting for the Corps". Quartermaster Professional Bulletin. US Army Quartermaster Museum. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  4. "U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum: Purpose and Function". DENIX. Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Installations and Environment. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

External links

Coordinates: 37°14′31″N 77°20′47″W / 37.24194°N 77.34639°W / 37.24194; -77.34639

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