Rediscovering Fort Knox: Fort Knox witnesses religious awakening during 1950s

By Matthew Rector | Environmental Management DivisionAugust 23, 2018

Fort Knox witnesses religious awakening during 1950s
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Fort Knox witnesses religious awakening during 1950s
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Fort Knox witnesses religious awakening during 1950s
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During the mid-1950s, Fort Knox experienced a religious boom that resulted in the construction of new chapels. The father and son architectural team of Stratton Owen Hammon and Neal Owen Hammon, from Louisville, were responsible for the designs of two prominent chapels from that time that remain in use on post.

Prichard Chapel is a large 600-seat chapel that opened in the summer of 1956. Cavalry Chapel was dedicated in 1959 as a 300-man regimental chapel to serve the 6500 hammerhead barracks area.

The contemporary architecture of these buildings was noticeably different from the wood framed chapels constructed at Fort Knox during the WWII era. Like most military buildings of that era, concrete block was predominately used. The treatment of that material, along with the inclusion of copper on the steeples, make the buildings exceptional among Army architecture.

Cavalry Chapel is considered one of Fort Knox's historic buildings today and is individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.