World War I

The United States stepped into the trenches of World War I in April of 1917, and Camp Holabird became an important part of the war effort. The site served as the Army's first large motor vehicle base for receipt and shipment of automotive transportation equipment and parts.

Colgate Creek made the camp an ideal site for shipping. At that time, the creek was deep enough to accommodate large supply boats traveling up the Chesapeake Bay. The boats would stop at Camp Holabird's 180-by-160-foot dock and carry supplies overseas to the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

Vehicles arrived from different parts of the United States to Camp Holabird, where they were stored, repaired and shipped out. However, horses and horse-drawn wagons were still a part of the scenery.

Cars and trucks were somewhat of a curiosity in the early 20th century, according to longtime Dundalk resident Charles Echols, who remembers admiring the vehicles at Camp Holabird on his route to school. "I can remember when I was growing up, few people had cars," he said.

The presence of automotive equipment at Camp Holabird fueled the need for trained mechanics and in May of 1918, the first Ordnance Automotive School was founded there for the education and training of military personnel.