In the archive photo and ad for Frisco Trailways, the caption mentions that Ft. Leonard Wood was "re-activated". Does anyone know, was the fort closed for a time after WW II? BTW, those little buses were very neat! Thanks, Tom G.
Tom, Yes, Fort Wood was closed shortly after the Korean War and remained closed for several years. During that time large cattle companies including one from Oklahoma leased the acreage and free ranged cattle on it. There are stories floating around from years ago that every now and then back in the day a stray would be spotted out in the woods or on a range that was a decedent of those herds. Hard to believe looking at the place now that there use to be cattle running all over it. Brad
This doesn't fit with the date of the ad. The Korean War was from 1950 to 1953 and the ad was dated 1951. Could the fort have been closed after WWII and reopened prior to the Korean War? This matches the date and text of the ad.
I was off on my time frame. The period of time that the Fort was closed was from May 1948 to August 1950. The Jarboe Commission Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma held the lease. During this period cattle were loaded out on the railroad from pens built around the rail yard on base. Brad
That make more sense. It was probably reopened to get the new draftees for the Korean War through boot camp.
