The Fort – Taft CA

Description

The Fort was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Kern County in 1938-40.

This unusual New Deal site is a replica of the pre-Gold Rush Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento, designed by W. Francis Parsons. It was constructed of native adobe mud bricks made on site and took 83 relief workers 18 months to build.   

The Fort covers nearly three acres and measures 360 feet by 200 feet, over 1,000 feet around the outside walls. The walls are 14 feet high. There are two interior courtyards with shade trees and many small offices arranged along the side walkways, which are roofed and have tile floors. 

The original auditorium in the center of the Fort was damaged in a 1952 earthquake and had to be reconstructed.

The Fort was built to be the county office building serving the West County area. In the early years, it housed federal, state and county offices, as well as a hospital and birthing center in the South Wing.  During World War II, it held the local draft board office and during the Korean War a National Guard Unit was stationed there.  Later, it was a county health clinic. 

In 1980, The Fort was found to have several cracks in the adobe walls and declared unsafe in a major earthquake.  All county offices were moved, leaving it vacant for several years. Preservationists mobilized to save the site from demolition and it was declared a County Historical Landmark and a State Historic Landmark in quick succession, and it went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. 

In 1985, The Fort was given to the West Kern Oil Museum. Seven years later, in December 1992, The Fort Preservation Society was formed and became the owner of The Fort.   Today, it houses various organizations, including the Rotary Club, a special-needs school, and a gift shop.