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History · Fort Drum

Fort Drum dates to 1908, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Fort Drum was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1903 on.

1908founded
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fort Drum’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fort Drum began

When was Fort Drum founded?

1908

Fort Drum dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata).

2020 census: 15,896118 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fort Drum’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1982. Watch Fort Drum change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Fort Drum on the map, 1903 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Drum. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fort Drum on the 1903 USGS mapFort Drum on the 1948 USGS mapFort Drum on the 1958 USGS mapFort Drum on the 1982 USGS map1903Theresa sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fort Drum.

The story

How Fort Drum came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Drum.

Read it all →

This section of the article incorporates text taken from a public-domain document prepared by the United States military.

A portion of the present Fort Drum was first used as a military training site in 1908 when it was named Pine Camp; the following year land was purchased to develop the camp as an installation. The army had an earlier presence in the North Country from the early 19th century, prior to the War of 1812.

ChaptersPine CampRenamed Fort Drum and afterCurrent units

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fort Drum, 1903 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1908
    FoundingFort Drum is established
  4. 1910In the archiveBirds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 1910
  5. 1990In the archiveA member of the 295th Military Police Company operates an M998 High Mobility Multi-purpos…
By decade

Fort Drum, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Birds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 19101910Birds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 1910
1920s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s5 items
A member of the 295th Military Police Company operates an M998 High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) duri…1990A member of the 295th Military Police Company operate…10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY, in the waiting area.(Exact date unknown)199410th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY, in the waiting…Defense.gov News Photo 980113-A-0000M-0031998Defense.gov News Photo 980113-A-0000M-003Defense.gov News Photo 980113-A-0000S-0041998Defense.gov News Photo 980113-A-0000S-004Defense.gov News Photo 980115-A-0000M-0041998Defense.gov News Photo 980115-A-0000M-004
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Birds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 1910
Retake this viewBirds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 1910, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fort Drum’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fort Drum

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Fort Drum

Nobody well known was born in Fort Drum itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John CarpenterAmerican filmmaker, composer and actor · b. 1948
Allen DullesFirst civilian and longest-serving Director of … · b. 1893
Robert LansingAmerican politician · b. 1864
Richard GriecoFull name: Richard John Grieco, Jr.; b. 3/23/65… · b. 1965
Cassius Marcellus CoolidgeAmerican artist · b. 1844
Mark NeveldineAmerican film director, producer and screenwrit… · b. 1973
Help out

Finish Fort Drum’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBirds eye view, Pine Camp, N.Y., 1910: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Le Ray2 historic placesBChampion1 historic placeA−CalciumIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreat BendIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlack RiverIts storyB

Questions about Fort Drum’s history

What year was Fort Drum founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.