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Madison Barracks

Madison Barracks was a military installation established in 1813 or 1815 at Sackets Harbor that was built for occupation by 600 U.S. troops, a few years after the War of 1812. It was named for James Madison who had just completed his presidency in 1817. Construction began under the name Fort Pike. The facility is a National Historic Landmark and a historic district located in Jefferson County, New York. The district includes 86 contributing buildings and two contributing structures. It includes the stone hospital, bakery, several warehouses known as "Stone Row," a stone water tower, and a series of brick buildings constructed in the 1890s as officers quarters, barracks, mess hall, and weapons storage and repair building. Madison Barracks was the U.S. Army's primary post in upstate New York until Pine Camp was opened in 1908. Madison Barracks remained an active military installation through the end of World War II, to 1947.

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Jul 15, 2026
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Madison Barracks
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LocationMilitary Rd., Sackets Harbor, New York
Coordinates43°57′10″N 76°6′35″W / 43.95278°N 76.10972°W / 43.95278; -76.10972
Area113 acres (46 ha)
Built1816
ArchitectSmith, William
NRHP reference No.740012461
Added to NRHPNovember 21, 1974

Madison Barracks was a military installation established in 18132 or 18153 at Sackets Harbor that was built for occupation by 600 U.S. troops, a few years after the War of 1812. It was named for James Madison who had just completed his presidency in 1817. Construction began under the name Fort Pike.3 The facility is a National Historic Landmark and a historic district located in Jefferson County, New York. The district includes 86 contributing buildings and two contributing structures. It includes the stone hospital, bakery, several warehouses known as "Stone Row," a stone water tower, and a series of brick buildings constructed in the 1890s as officers quarters, barracks, mess hall, and weapons storage and repair building.4 Madison Barracks was the U.S. Army's primary post in upstate New York until Pine Camp (later renamed Fort Drum) was opened in 1908. Madison Barracks remained an active military installation through the end of World War II, to 1947.3

General Mark W. Clark, a senior commander during World War II, was born at Madison Barracks in 1896 while his father Charles Carr Clark was stationed there.56

The grounds and remaining buildings of Madison Barracks are now part of a combined residential and business development.7 The Madison Barracks site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.1

Military Cemetery at Sackets Harbor

Military Cemetery at Sackets Harbor or Military Cemetery is located south of the barracks at Dodge Avenue and Spencer Drive since 1909. It is the resting place for Zebulon Pike.8

References

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Madison Barracks" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
  3. "Madison Barracks". FortWiki. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  4. Cornelia E. Brooke (September 1974). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Madison Barracks. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 1, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)
  5. Clark, Mark W. (June 9, 1932). "Obituary, Charles C. Clark". Sixty-first Annual Report of the Association of the Graduates of the United States Military Academy. Newburgh, New York: Moore Printing Company. pp. 175–178 – via Google Books.
  6. Saxon, Wolfgang (April 18, 1984). "Gen. Mark W. Clark, Last of World War II Commanders, Dies at 87". The New York Times. New York. p. B7 – via TimesMachine.
  7. "Welcome to Madison Barracks". Madison Barracks. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  8. "Military Cemetery at Sackets Harbor". adirondackscenicbyways.org.