New Commissary & Post School

This building is the only one of the warehouses without a ground level door.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal

"It is a proper place for a military post, and should be the depot of supplies for any troops acting against Indians on that line." Major John C. McFerran, 1865. 

One of the most important roles for any frontier fort is amassing and securing the supplies that kept the Army functioning, including food, ammunition, and clothing. The army had to be able to supply itself in order to maintain a permanent presence on the plains. To that end, the first sandstone buildings completed at Fort Larned after the blockhouse was finished were made to store food, ammunition, and supplies. 

Fort Larned has three warehouses - the Old Commissary, the Quartermaster Storehouse, and the New Commissary. The first two warehouses were built in 1866 and 1867, this warehouse was added in 1868 to accommodate the additional supplies needed when the fort's troop levels surged to their highest. 

The New Commissary was the last sandstone building completed at the fort since troop levels continued to go down over the next decade. As the need for storage space declined, the New Commissary was turned into a multipurpose building, including the post library and schoolroom.