Hospital patients sitting on water pipe. (click image to view larger)

Construction plans for enlisted men's barrack. (click image to view larger)

Construction in civic center area. (click image to view larger)

"Limited as they were by the lack of adequate railroad facilities, the construction of Camp Dodge was no less remarkable than that of the other fifteen camps... By November 24th , all buildings authorized to that date for the camp were completed with the exception of the theatre and two officers' quarters at the Base Hospital. The 129 individual heating plants for officers' quarters at medical buildings, the sewer system with a total length of 131,052 feet, all water mains, having a total length of 170,355 feet, the pumping stations, wells, and million gallon reservoir, the electric lighting system, the telephone system and road work were all completed.” (88th Division, 1919)

Standardized Plans The following is how Long (1989) describes the plans. "The model cantonment plan was U-shaped and extended for 2.5 miles around a parade ground. Railroad spurs, receiving depots, and warehousing were typically located along the long sides of the "U". A special Civic Center area provided buildings for recreational and leisure use (library, YMCA, Knights of Columbus). Broad avenues separated the one-story officers quarters from the enlisted men's two-story barracks, all wood frame. Other streets separated the various battalions; the design was intended to reinforce troop identification with their respective companies. Wider avenues that doubled as fire breaks (an important consideration in a wooden "city") were placed between the regiments and doubled as parade grounds. The hospital, which required the ability to quarantine patients, was typically placed outside the "U"."

General contractors, Weitz Company, subcontracted out to other local firms and built most of the Cantonment. General contractors received 65.5 cents per hour while laborers received 33.33 cents per hour. A contractor's report for the week of Sept. 15, 1917, shows 5,759 people working at Camp Dodge during that week. National Geographic at that time reported Camp Dodge received the equivalent of over 300 miles of twelve-inch board in one day, dropped off by the Interurban Railroad! (Grover 1987) An interesting note: Construction of the waterworks system was tied up for a short period due to the miscommunication in materials shipping. 800 feet of pipe for the main pump-in was shipped to Montana rather than Camp Dodge.

View of a pumping station in the Des Moines River Valley. (click image to view larger)

Infrastructure was of great importance to the National Army. When military manuals discussed such things as roads, it was stated to do like the ancient Romans e.g. “if we are going to have a good military we need to train well with a good system of roads.” “At that time, [during the construction of the 13th Cantonment, 1917] Merle Hay Road was a gravel trail known as 58th Street. Most supplies were transported to the camp by the Interurban railroad line because the only other routes from Des Moines to Camp Dodge were 58th Street and N. W. Beaver Drive, which was also gravel…'I do know that the bricks were laid between Douglas Avenue in Des Moines and the water tower at Camp Dodge in 1917, says Moss [Dick Moss, retired Lt. Colonel with the Iowa National Guard]. ‘The bricks were made at the Flint Brick Yards in Des Moines near Harding Road at the Des Monies River.'” (Davis 1993)

A few quick materials facts:

1. A tree averaging 60 feet in diameter and 1,060 feet high would be just enough to supply the lumber used for the construction of WWI Camp Dodge.
2. The lumber used would be enough to make a sidewalk four feet wide from Providence, RI, to San Francisco.
3. If all the 2000 buildings were placed end to end, a continuous building 25 miles long would be the result.