The name Fort Knox is synonymous with gold reserves, and it conjures images of gleaming gold bars kept under a multitude of locks and keys. And that makes sense because a sizable portion of the nation’s gold reserves, including gleaming gold bars, are kept under a multitude of locks and other security measures.
While there is gold in Fort Knox, it is in the United States Bullion Depository, often referred to as Fort Knox. The Bullion Depository houses more than 147 million ounces of gold with a melt value greater than $360 billion, which accounts for about half of the Treasury Department’s gold reserve. However, the depository is located next to Fort Knox, and both are in the town of Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Gold in Fort Knox
The most recorded gold held in the Bullion Depository in Fort Knox was 649.6 million ounces on December 31, 1941. The Depository holds 400-ounce gold bars, which are reported at a book value of $42.22 per ounce. All of the gold in the depository is not kept in 400-ounce gold bars, but even if it was, there would be more than 350,000 gold bars.
What Else has the Fort Knox Bullion Depository Held?
The function of a depository is primarily to secure funds or a given asset, in this case, gold bullion. Depositories play an essential role in facilitating the security of products like priceless artifacts and historical documents. That is exactly what the Fort Knox Bullion Depository held during World War II.
Historic Documents
One of the four copies of the Magna Carta was traveling to the British Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. Instead, it was safely housed in the depository until the end of World War II, when it was safely returned to Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire, England.
The Magna Carta was in good company during its short life in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were also kept in the depository through the end of the war. The documents were sent from Washington, D.C. two weeks after the Pearl Harbor bombing on December 7, 1941. While there, the documents were under lock and key, sealed with lead and placed in a second protective container. There were about 150 pounds of protective measures in place to secure these three documents.
Priceless Relics
The U.S. 86th Infantry Division recovered the Holy Crown of Hungary at the end of World War II, and it was later sent to the Bullion Depository at Fort Knox for the years of the Cold War. There had been concerns about the threat posed by the Soviet Union and the crown stayed in the Depository until 1978.
Has Fort Knox Always Housed Gold?
The gold vault in the Bullion Depository next to Fort Knox was constructed in 1935 to keep U.S. gold reserves safe during the Great Depression, which was also a time of international uncertainty. World War II was not even on the horizon when President Franklin D Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, requiring citizens and companies to surrender gold. There were exceptions for gold that had a value of less than $100 in the aggregate and special gold coins in collectors’ hands.
When was the Fort Knox Bullion Depository Built?
Construction began in 1936 on the Bullion Depository on land owned by Fort Knox. The first shipment of gold arrived at the Depository in 1937, under the watchful eye of the 7th Cavalry Brigade.
When was Fort Knox Founded?
Camp Knox was established in 1918 as a training camp for recruits before soldiers were deployed to fight in World War I before the end of the war. The Camp was named for the Chief of Artillery in the American Revolutionary War, Henry Knox, who also served as the first U.S. Secretary of War. It boasted the presence of Godman Field, the first airfield in Kentucky, which was built for the 29th Aero Squadron.
In 1921, Camp Knox became one of the active training centers for the Reserve Officer Training Camp (ROTC), the Citizen’s Military Training Camp (CMTC), and the National Guard. One of the first summer’s attendees was Charles Lindbergh, who gained international notoriety for his 1927 one-man flight across the Atlantic Ocean. While the Camp became the second largest training center for Army recruits in 1922, the officer’s school moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, that summer. The post was closed as a permanent installation, and between 1925 and 1928, it was called Camp Henry Knox National Forest.
The Establishment of Fort Knox
Camp Henry Knox National Forest was chosen as the site of the new Mechanized Cavalry headquarters in 1931. The size and terrain of the Camp were well-suited for the Cavalry’s training purposes and had been sitting mostly empty for several years. The installation covers 109,000 acres (about half the area of San Antonio, Texas) and is a certified city stretched over three counties in north-central Kentucky. The fort was named for the Chief of Artillery in the American Revolutionary War, Henry Knox, who also served as the first U.S. Secretary of War.
Can You Visit Fort Knox?
The Bullion Depository at Fort Knox does not allow visitors, although a small group of journalists were given a brief tour in 1974. In 2017, a small group of government and elected officials, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, reviewed the gold in the Bullion Depository.
