74th Ordnance Company (Depot) June 1, 1913–June 30, 1939 - There had been an Ordnance organization in Hawaii since 1913, when a depot was sent out from Benicia Arsenal in California to Fort Kamehameha on the southern coast of Oahu. During World War I, the Hawaiian Ordnance Depot was moved to Fort Shafter, near Honolulu, and a few years later it also had a maintenance company and a depot detachment at Schofield Barracks in the interior.
Hawaii Arsenal (1915) Fort Shafter - First established as Hawaii Ordnance Depot in 1915 adjacent to Fort Shafter in Honolulu County, Hawaii. Renamed Hawaii Arsenal on 17 Sep 1918. The arsenal was designed as a storage and repair facility for coastal defense armament and normal small arms equipment.
The arsenal was laid out as an equilateral triangle with a crescent added to the base. Inside the triangle the arsenal buildings formed three rows with additional buildings lining the two sides (See Photo Below). The crescent at the base of the triangle was lined with the arsenal's quarters including the Commanding officer's quarters, his assistant officer's quarters, NCO quarters, Barracks, a stable and a garage.
The arsenal buildings that filled in the triangle included:
Supply storehouse 50' x 190'
Four storehouses 50' x 100'
Five magazines 50' x 100'
Six gun sheds 30' x 100'
Lumber shed 30' x 100'
Machine shop 32' x 190'
Saddler shop 32' x 100'
A rail spur from the Oahu Railway and Land Co. provided access to the storehouses and ammunition magazines from the port of Honolulu wharves (Fort Armstrong) and Fort Kamehameha at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Some buildings remain repurposed on the Fort Shafter post.
