The photograph (left) is an aerial view of the Arsenal taken in 1931. The buildings in the quadrangle (visible in center) were all removed from the Arsenal's original riverside location, transported and rebuilt on this hilltop site under a contract with Mr. Greene Marshall. They were completed and in use by 1828. This move was supervised by the first commander of the Arsenal, Major M. M. Payne.
 

Today the oldest standing building on the site is this small Sand Hills cottage (shown below). Built by Freeman Walker, a prominent local citizen who migrated from Virginia, Bellevue retains its original name.  It probably dates to circa 1818-1820 when Walker's family used it as a refuge from the city's summer.  The practice of well-to-do Augustans seeking relief from the summer's oppressive heat and humidity in country residences located on the sandy hills to the west of the city gave this area its name: Summerville.  In 1826, Walker sold the 70 plus acre "Bellevue tract" to the United States government as a new site for the Arsenal.  He was paid $6000 for the property.  Walker passed away the following year and is buried in the family cemetery on the property, still in use today.     

Below (left) is a recent picture of the building which served as the commandant's quarters for the Arsenal.  Today it is known as Benet House, after Col. J. Walker Benet, father of the famous American poet, who commanded the Augusta Arsenal in the years before and during WWI. 

Above (right) is the former junior officers' quarters for the post.  It is now known as Rains Hall, named for George Washington Rains who was primarily responsible for the success of the Confederate munitions and military supply production at the Arsenal and for the construction of the Confederate Powder Works at Augusta. 

The building (above) was constructed in 1860 as a stable for the post.  This early 20th century photograph also shows the Arsenal's steam powered pumper fire engine.  Today it is known as the Chateau.

The men pictured (above and below) are among those who worked at the facility early in the last century.

Considerations of the garrison's and worker's health played an important part in the decision to move the Augusta Arsenal from the riverside site to the Summerville neighborhood in the 1820s and continued to be a concern throughout the 19th century. The post hospital (pictured below) was constructed in 1894.

Sgt. Orlin K. Fletcher

Sergeant Orlin K. Fletcher of the U. S. Army Hospital Corps was assigned to the post early in 1904. When smallpox broke out in the local area in October of that year, Sgt. Fletcher played a major role in protecting the post by vaccinating the 31 U. S. military personnel and the 75 civilian workers and their families. He also treated the cases that did occur and performed his duties in such an exemplary manner as to be commended by Lieutenant Colonel D. A. Lyle, the post commander at that time and inventor of the Lyle gun, an innovation in sea rescue.