Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown . The 109 , 000 acre ( 170 mi . sq , 441 km . sq ) base covers parts of Bullitt , Hardin , and Meade counties . It currently holds the Army human resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command , United States Army Cadet Command and the United States Army Accessions Command . It was the home , for nearly seventy years ( 1940 – 2010 ) , of the U . S . Army Armor Center , the U . S . Army Armor School ( now at Fort Benning ) , and was used by both the Army and the Marine Corps to train crews on the M1 Abrams main battle tank . The history of the US Army ' s Cavalry and Armored forces , and of General George S . Patton ' s career , can be found at the General George Patton Museum on the grounds of Fort Knox . Parts of the base in Hardin and Meade Counties form a census - designated place ( CDP ) , which had a population of 12 , 377 at the 2000 census . Bullion Depository . The United States Department of the Treasury has maintained the Bullion Depository on the post since 1937 . This facility is operated solely by the Treasury Department . Patton Museum . The George S . Patton Museum and Center of Leadership at Fort Knox includes an exhibit highlighting leadership issues that arose from the attacks of September 11 , 2001 , which includes two firetrucks . One of them , designated Foam 161 , was partially charred and melted in the attack upon the Pentagon . Fort Knox is also the location of the United States Army ' s Human Resources Command ' s Timothy Maude Center of Excellence , which was named in honor of Timothy Maude , the highest - ranking member of the U . S . military to die in the attacks of September 11 , 2001 . History . Fortification . Fortifications were constructed near the site in 1861 , during the Civil War when Fort Duffield was constructed . Fort Duffield was located on what was known as Muldraugh Hill on a strategic point overlooking the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers and the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike . The area was contested by both Union and Confederate forces . Bands of organized guerrillas frequently raided the area during the war . John Hunt Morgan the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate Army raided the area before staging his famous raid on Indiana and Ohio known as Morgan ' s Raid . Post war . After the war , the area now occupied by the Army was home to various small communities . In October 1903 , military maneuvers for the Regular Army and the National Guards of several states were held at West Point , Kentucky and the surrounding area . In April 1918 , field artillery units from Camp Zachary Taylor arrived at West Point for training . near the village of Stithton were leased to the government and construction for a permanent training center was started in July 1918 . New camp . The new camp was named after Henry Knox , the Continental Army ' s chief of artillery during the Revolutionary War and the country ' s first Secretary of War . The camp was extended by the purchase of a further in June 1918 and construction properly began in July 1918 . The building program was reduced following the end of the war and reduced further following cuts to the army in 1921 after the National Defense Act of 1920 . The camp was greatly reduced and became a semi - permanent training center for the 5th Corps Area for Reserve Officer training , the National Guard , and Citizen ' s Military Training Camps ( CMTC ) . For a short while , from 1925 to 1928 , the area was designated as " Camp Henry Knox National Forest . " Air Corps usage . The post contains an airfield , called Godman Army Airfield , that was used by the United States Army Air Corps , and its successor , the United States Army Air Forces as a training base during World War II . It was used by the Kentucky Air National Guard for several years after the war until they relocated to Standiford Field in Louisville . The airfield is still in use by the United States Army Aviation Branch . Mechanized military unit occupation . In 1931 a small force of the mechanized cavalry was assigned to Camp Knox to use it as a training site . The camp was turned into a permanent garrison in January 1932 and renamed Fort Knox . The 1st Cavalry Regiment arrived later in the month to become the 1st Cavalry Regiment ( Mechanized ) . In 1936 the 1st was joined by the 13th to become the 7th Cavalry Brigade ( Mechanized ) . The site quickly became the center for mechanization tactics and doctrine . The success of the German mechanized units at the start of World War II was a major impetus to operations at the fort . A new Armored Force was established in July 1940 with its headquarters at Fort Knox with the 7th Cavalry Brigade becoming the 1st Armored Division . The Armored Force School and the Armored Force Replacement Center were also sited at Fort Knox in October 1940 , and their successors remained there until 2010 , when the Armor School moved to Fort Benning , Georgia . The site was expanded to cope with its new role . By 1943 , there were 3 , 820 buildings on . A third of the base has been torn down within the last ten years , with another third slated by 2010 . 1993 shooting . On October 11 , 1993 , Arthur Hill went on a shooting rampage , killing three and wounding two before attempting suicide , shooting and severely wounding himself . The shooting occurred at Fort Knox ' s Training Support Center . Prior to the incident , Hill ' s coworkers claimed they were afraid of a mentally unstable person who was at work . Arthur Hill died on October 21 of his self - inflicted wound . 2013 shooting . On April 3 , 2013 , a civilian employee was shot and killed in a parking lot at the base . Investigators were seeking to question a man in connection with the shooting . The victim was an employee of the United States Army Human Resources Command and was transported to the Ireland Army Community Hospital , where he was pronounced dead . This shooting caused a temporary lock - down that was lifted around 7 p . m . on the same day . Marquinta E . Jacobs , a soldier stationed at Fort Knox , was charged on April 4 with the shooting . Human Resource Command ( HRC ) . The Army Human Resource Command Center re - located to Fort Knox from the Washington D . C . / Virginia area beginning in 2009 . New facilities are under construction throughout Fort Knox , such as the new " Army Human Resource Center " , the largest construction project in the history of Fort Knox . It is a $ 185 million , three - story , complex of six interconnected buildings , sitting on . In May 2010 , The Human Resource Center of Excellence , the largest office building in the state , opened at Fort Knox . The new center employs nearly 4 , 300 soldiers and civilians . Fort Knox High School . Fort Knox is one of only three Army posts ( the others being Fort Campbell , Kentucky and Fort Sam Houston , Texas ) that still have a high school located on - post . Fort Knox High School , serving grades 9 – 12 , was built in 1958 and has undergone only a handful of renovations since then ; but a new building was completed in 2007 . Geography . Fort Knox is located at 37°54 ' 09 . 96 " North , 85°57 ' 09 . 11 " West , along the Ohio River . The depository itself is located at 37°52 ' 59 . 59 " North , 85°57 ' 55 . 31 " West . According to the Census Bureau , the base CDP has a total area of , of which is land and — 0 . 14 % — is water . Communities near Fort Knox include Brandenburg , Elizabethtown , Hodgenville , Louisville , Radcliff , Shepherdsville , and Vine Grove , Kentucky . The Meade County city of Muldraugh is completely surrounded by Fort Knox . Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , there were 12 , 377 people , 2 , 748 households , and 2 , 596 families residing on base . The population density was . There were 3 , 015 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the base was 66 . 3 % White , 23 . 1 % African American , 0 . 7 % Native American , 1 . 7 % Asian , 0 . 4 % Pacific Islander , 4 . 3 % from other races , and 3 . 6 % from two or more races . Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10 . 4 % of the population . There were 2 , 748 households out of which 77 . 7 % had children under the age of 18 living with them , 86 . 0 % were married couples living together , 6 . 1 % had a female householder with no husband present , and 5 . 5 % were non - families . 4 . 9 % of all households were made up of individuals and 0 . 1 % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 3 . 49 and the average family size was 3 . 60 . The age distribution was 34 . 9 % under the age of 18 , 25 . 5 % from 18 to 24 , 37 . 2 % from 25 to 44 , 2 . 3 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 1 % who were 65 years of age or older . The median age was 22 years . For every 100 females there were 155 . 7 males . For every 100 females age 18 and over , there were 190 . 3 males . These statistics are generally typical for military bases . The median income for a household on the base was US $ 34 , 020 , and the median income for a family was $ 33 , 588 . Males had a median income of $ 26 , 011 versus $ 21 , 048 for females . The per capita income for the base was $ 12 , 410 . About 5 . 8 % of the population and 6 . 6 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 7 . 6 % of those under the age of 18 and 100 . 0 % of those 65 and older . General use . The term " Fort Knox " is used in general discussion as a synonym for a secure location .