The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-05
Selection of the Site
Made by Merriam.
TRACT LOOKED INVITING
OTIS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER
CRoWDING THE CAMP.
Instead Of Leaving Portion Of the
Troops at the Preside He Took
Them ALI to the Rich
mond Camp.

How did Camp Merritt come to be 10
Gated on the Bay District race track
grounds? This is a question that has
often been asked, and never correctly an
swered.
The fact is that the Spring Valley
Water Company Is virtually responsible
for the location in that is was suggested
and recommended by that corporation.
When the troops began to arrive in San
Francisco General Merriam ordered a
camp site to be selected ION the Preside
reservation and the problem of a water
supply at once presented itself. The en-
gineer of the water company, upon MAX
ing an investigation of the grounds, re-
ported that the only place where wa.er
could be quickly introduced was the pa
rade ground near the Lombard-street en-
trance, where there was a large main.
To carry water to the higher points Of the
reservation would require months time.
The troops who first arrived, among them
the First California and the Second Ore
gon, were accordingly located near the
Lombard-street gate Of the Preside res
ervation.
All the available space that was sup
piled with water was soon taken up, and
owing to the rapid concentration of
troops II was necessary to have more
ground and more water at once.
Now here Is where the Spring Valley
joker comes in. The company, through
its engineer, suggested that the Bay Dis
trict race track ground would be an ex-
cellent camp site, as the company had re-
Gently surrounded the blocks with water
mains, and If any more were needed they
could be quickly laid. Furthermore, the
owners of the property-the Stanford and
Croker estates-would be willing to al
low the land to be used without any COM
pensation.
General Merriam inspected the pro-
cd no cf%
pleasing to the eye, as 1t was level and
was then growing crop of barley, which
had been planted to form sod to hold
all the troops were turned over to the ex-
pedltonary forces, as they were called
under command of General Merritt, in
whose honor the camp was named. When
General Otis arrived the handling of these
forces was placed In his hands, and he
concentrated all the troops at Camp
fornia over FROM the Presidio He gave
as a reason for crowding all these troops
at Camp Merritt that it was necessary to
have them all together for the better
handling, training and disciplining them.
The fact is that had he allowed a fair
portion to occupy the grounds at the
crowding at Camp Merritt. He had plenty
of brigadier generals lying around
loose, as it were. and could easily have
spared one of them to take charge of a
The barley soon disappeared from the
surface of the sand of Camp Merritt and
as consequence the ground became
damp and retained It's moisture which,
with the fog, caused much of the illness
that began to be rather alarming early
in July and kept on increasing through
out August.
The Seventh California was moved from
Camp Merritt over to Point Lobos
avenue, where the typhoid fever was de-
veloped owing to the camp being located
on a place which included within it's
limits a sink, the fact not being dis
covered until some time after the disease
had broken out. Finally the move back
to the Preside was made.
The Spring Valley Water Company was
paid about $4,000 for making the connec-
tons and supplying water at Camp Mer-
rift. The pipe, about 5000 feet. one and a
half inches diameter, has been taken UP
and relaid at the Presidio. The cost of
restoring the Camp Merritt site to its
former condition, the work of which is
now in progress, will be $500, which is to
be paid by the Government.