Military Life at Point San Jose

The elegant streetscape along Franklin and the well-maintained lawns, hedges and fences.

circa 1893

This area was originally the center of the Civil War-era army post; the western half of the post is gone, but the eastern side remains intact. Once the Civil War started, the army reclaimed Point San Jose. The post's prominent bluff, in tandem with the forts at Alcatraz and Fort Point, served as an ideal location to protect the city from Confederate attacks. The army evicted the civilian residents and tore down the Fremont's home to make way for new gun batteries.

Like all Army posts that sprang up throughout the west, the military designed Point San Jose to function as a small, self-sufficient town. The post included a post headquarters, a hospital, barracks, and mess halls clustered around the main parade ground. The army usually constructed the more utilitarian and displeasing buildings, like the latrines and the stables, at the outskirts of the post. The fortunate Point San Jose officers enjoyed living in the elegant bay-front homes that the army had appropriated. In 1882, the army changed the post's name to Fort Mason to honor Colonel Richard Barnes Mason, the second military governor and commander of California (1847 to 1849).