Name/Title
Print, PhotographicEntry/Object ID
2015.009.0318Description
This is a studio photo of a soldier in uniform. Looks like World War I uniform. The photo was taken at Camp Kearney Studio in California.
The camp was established by the Army in 1917 on 12,721 acres (51.48 km2) of land on a mesa north of San Diego.[1][2] The area included the 2,130-acre (8.6 km2) Miramar Ranch, which had originally been established by newspaperman E. W. Scripps and later sold to the Jessop family.[3] It was Scripps who named the area Miramar, meaning "view of the sea".[4]
The new base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny, a leader in the Mexican-American War who also served as a military governor of California. Camp Kearny was one of 32 new camps created by the Army in 1917 as a mobilization and training facility for troops on their way to battlegrounds of World War I.[5] The first commander was Major James Stuart McKnight.[6] Army aircraft occasionally landed on the parade ground, but an actual airfield was not established during World War I.Collection
Benicia Historical Museum Collection
