Fort Lowell was a major supply depot for forts around southern Arizona Territory. The Quartermaster and Commissary Depot in on private property directly west, across Craycroft Road and north of Fort Lowell Rd. The Quartermaster Department supplied all military clothing, camp and garrison equipment, wagons, draft animals, forage, fuel, and materials for construction and repair. The U-shaped building, the largest on the post, had over 9,300 square feet of floor and cellar space.
The Commissary Department stored food here. troopers supplemented the army rations with produce they grew in gardens on post. The Ordnance Department used the depot for storing weapons, ammunition, cartridge belts and boxes, and saddles.
North of the depot were the 140-by-290-foot corrals, the stables, and the hay yard for the Quartermaster's horses and mules.
Post Trader
In 1873 John B. "Pie" Allen built a trading post near Fort Lowell. The building is located on private property west of Craycroft Road and north of Fort Lowell Road, west of the Quartermaster and Commissary Depot. Allen soon sold the store to Fred Austin. The 19-room structure contained storeroom, a bar, gaming rooms for officers and enlisted men, and living quarters. The post trader provided necessary and welcome diversions for the soldiers,
but the establishment was a continual source of problems for Fort Lowell's commander. The army reprimanded Austin for keeping the bar open after hours, purveying whiskey, exceeding the set price of 30 cents a quart for beer, and selling more than the allowed three bottles of beer per man per day. The store closed in 1889.
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