Under State and Federal regulations, the Vermont Army National Guard (VTARNG) is required to inventory the cultural resources of its military facilities, incorporate the inventory into a Cultural Resources Management Plan, nominate historic resources to the National Register of Historic Places, and preserve historic resources. 

Camp Johnson (CJ) is the headquarters of the VTARNG and is located on State Highway 15 in Colchester, Vermont, adjacent to Fort Ethan Allen. Established by the U.S. Army in 1894 as a cavalry post, Fort Ethan Allen closed in 1944. CJ is made up of 60-acres of state-owned land and 600 acres of federally-owned land. are federally licensed.  The Vermont National Guard has been utilizing the site since 1898 when it was established as a training ground for Fort Ethan Allen.

Today there are many historic resources present at Camp Johnson, although due to the removal and alteration of other historic resources, and the facility being visually dominated by late twentieth-century buildings, CJ is not eligible as a separate National Register historic district. However, several resources dating from 1898 to 1940 are considered potentially eligible for the National Register as contributing resources in the Fort Ethan Allen Historic District, which was entered into the National Register on September 14, 1995.

The VTARNG ammunition storage bunkers are referred to as “earth covered magazines” (ECMs) and are located within an area referred to as the Ammunition Supply Point (ASP).  There were originally five ECMs located at Camp Johnson, three of which were replaced with new bunkers, and two of which remain as historic structures.  The ECMs were constructed in 1940 in anticipation of the onset of World War II (WWII). They are the only historic ECMs in Vermont and the only intact WWII-related structures at Camp Johnson.

The bunkers are examples of the “Armco Hut” building type, a structure with an arched roof made of prefabricated building components that was built on military bases just before and during WWII. Similar in form to a Quonset Hut, the arched heavy-gauge corrugated iron ingot Armco Huts are set on poured concrete pads.  The iron arches were erected on-site using components produced by the American Rolling Mill Company (aka Armco). 

The bunkers are covered with grassy earthen mounds and have exposed front bulkheads that consist of truncated iron walls with hinged iron doors.  At the crown of the earthen mounds above the rear wall of each bunker there is a tall, narrow metal ventilator.  The iron arches and bulkhead interiors are stamped with “ARMCO” and “American Rolling mill Company.”  Of the two remaining ECMs at Camp Johnson, one is 20’ x 20’ and one is 20’ x 12’.   

The bunkers are eligible for the National Register as contributing resources in a potential expansion of the contiguous Fort Ethan Allen Historic District.  They meet National Register Criterion A for their association with Vermont’s military history, and Criterion C for their distinctive features of a WWII ammunition storage bunker and as examples of the Armco Hut building type. They retain integrity of location, design, materials, setting, workmanship, feeling and association. Given the historic significance and integrity of the ECMs, VTARNG, in an agreement with the Vermont State Historic Preservation Office, is keeping two of the five bunkers intact and created this online exhibit to explain their significance. 

The full Historic Resource Documentation Report can be found here.