Camp Perry comeback continues
Story by Bill Pierce, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (01/21/22)
Camp Perry Joint Training Center is located on the shores of Lake Erie in Ottawa County and includes a military training facility, public lodging and banquet/conference facilities. It sits on about 650 acres of land in Ottawa County in northern Ohio near Port Clinton and is adjacent to the shores of Lake Erie. It is one of three military training sites maintained by the Ohio Army National Guard, collectively known as Fort Ohio.
The National Matches, considered America’s “World Series of the Shooting Sports,” have been a tradition at Camp Perry since 1907 and are conducted through a partnership between the Civilian Marksmanship Program and the Ohio National Guard. Each summer, the nation’s finest civilian and military marksmen and women square off for five weeks of rifle and handgun competition in a variety of formats and events (the National Matches are set to run July 10-Aug. 13 this year).
With more than 100 years of training, events and people at this historic installation, infrastructure repairs are inevitable and necessary to maintain its status as a premiere shooting, training and conference facility. Projects in recent years have included the renovation of Hough Auditorium, demolition on post, and post-wide construction and maintenance activities.
With more than 100 years of training, events and people at this historic installation, infrastructure repairs are inevitable and necessary to maintain its status as a premiere shooting, training and conference facility. Projects in recent years have included the renovation of Hough Auditorium, demolition on post, and post-wide construction and maintenance activities.
In 2018, more than $3.5 million in installation renovations and improvements were highlighted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen the Hough Auditorium. Constructed in 1938 at a cost of $70,000, the auditorium, where Bob Hope had once visited troops on a USO tour, had sustained significant damage from years of flooding and involved several phases to renovate. The $1.6 million federally-funded improvements included the replacement of seating and the rehabilitation of a representative set of original chairs and end caps, while the rest of the theater was fully updated to meet modern requirements for accessibility, electrical systems and HVAC.
“I am extremely proud of the achievements that Camp Perry and Fort Ohio have accomplished,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas E. Moore II, Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army. “Through our collaboration with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office and Ohio History Connection, Camp Perry is more effective than ever at managing and preserving its cultural resources. The Ohio National Guard director of installation and management (DIMR) staff, Fort Ohio and state headquarters environmental staff were instrumental in the successful renovation of the Hough Auditorium.”
The significant improvements and modernization at Camp Perry have led to state and national recognition. The Ohio History Connection presented a Preservation Merit Award to the Ohio National Guard for historic renovations to the Hough Auditorium. More recently, Camp Perry earned second place in the Fiscal Year 2020 Army National Guard Environmental Security Award competition in the Cultural Resources, Small Installation Category.
Following the guidelines within their division, the Camp Perry team focused their efforts to promote and improve their cultural resources management (CRM) program, including historical buildings, curation and the promotion of the cultural resources conservation ethic.
“The CRM program has faced a number of complex challenges at Camp Perry, as it continuously looks to balance the preservation of its National Register eligible historic district with the needs of the Ohio National Guard and its mission sets,” said Maj. Steven Vicario, the Ohio Army National Guard’s Environmental and Energy Branch chief. “Balancing dual state and federal ownership of the training site, while ensuring preservation of Ohio’s culturally significant aspects of the district, has been paramount to the program. Our partnership with the Ohio History Connection has been a tremendous contributor in making the balance of preservation and OHARNG mission sets statewide and at Camp Perry possible.”
Lt. Col. Amy Fullenkamp, commander of Camp Perry, said she is proud of the recent recognition of the facility, which is now well into its second century of utilization as well as being a long-standing component of the Port Clinton and surrounding community — economically, historically and culturally.
“Camp Perry Joint Training Center has strong ties to its military heritage and I am very excited for the post to be ranked nationally in this category. We strive to preserve our legacy so we know where we have been and let it guide us into the future,” Fullenkamp said. “The renovation of Hough Auditorium, the hutment (historic military lodging) rework, and the facility projects to protect these cultural legacies are very important. Our staff did an excellent job in working with state partners to make these historical facilities last for future Soldiers.”
