The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, for its role in the Civil War and in furthering the settlement of Utah.

[4] Early in the Civil War, the threat of violence increased with the withdrawal of Federal troops from the West for use against the Confederate States of America.

Colonel Patrick Connor was ordered to reestablish a military presence with volunteer soldiers in the Utah Territory.

Through the efforts of Utah's U.S. Sen. Thomas Kearns, the camp became a regimental post and was renamed "Fort Douglas."

One of the crews kept there was from the SMS Cormoran, which had left the German colony of Qingdao, China, at the beginning of the war and stopped at Guam in December 1914 to refuel and take on provisions.

Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Fort Douglas became an Army Air Field in conjunction with Salt Lake City Municipal Airport[6] and housed the 7th Bombardment Group operating B-17 Flying Fortresses.

However, Fort Douglas proper was taken over by the Army ground forces when fears of a Japanese attack of the U.S. mainland caused the Ninth Service Command Headquarters to move from Utah to the Presidio of San Francisco.

After World War II, the Army began disposing of its land, transferring it to the University of Utah, located adjacent to it.

[9] A groundbreaking ceremony for the new reserve center at Camp Williams was held in August 2024, which, at the time, was expected to be completed in 2026.

[10][11] As of 2023, the commands hosted at the reserve center include: In 1991, the University of Utah received a significant portion of the fort's remaining property.

In 2015 it was revealed that during construction work to upgrade the university's electrical system, buried period artifacts had been removed and discarded at a landfill.