A long-buried piece of Buffalo history is being brought back to life through a new exhibit, Fort Porter and the U.S. Medical Corps. Curated by Tom Murphy, visiting assistant librarian at the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, the exhibit explores Fort Porter’s role in World War I and the hospital units that operated there, providing vital medical care to soldiers both overseas and at home.
“A few things motivated me to do this exhibit,” Murphy said. ” I recognized the names of doctors from my research project while interning at the Buffalo History Museum, digitizing glass plate negatives from their Howard Beach Collection. I found a war medal from one of the doctors and learned they were UB graduates—one even became head of the surgery department. I also explored the Elsie Blanche Augustine Collection, which helped put the pieces together and provided great visual aids and timelines to tell the Base Hospital 23 story.”
Fort Porter, once located between Busti Avenue, Vermont Street, Massachusetts Street and Interstate 190, played a critical role during World War I. In 1917, it served as the headquarters for Base Hospital 23, a Buffalo-based medical unit organized by the Greater Buffalo Chapter of the Red Cross and Buffalo General Hospital. The unit was deployed to Vittel, France, where it converted seven hotels into fully operational hospitals to care for wounded soldiers, particularly during the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives.
Olmsted’s Buffalo Parks, 1914 map. Courtesy of the UB Libraries Map Collection.
Despite its historical significance, Fort Porter has largely been forgotten. Murphy was surprised to find no plaques or markers commemorating the site.
“When I found out about Fort Porter, I became very interested in where it was,” he said. “I learned that it was connected to the north side of Front Park, so I went there and tried to find any plaque or monument that referenced its existence. Any Buffalonians I asked had never heard of Fort Porter. After walking around the whole park, I saw no reference or evidence of it, despite it being there for almost 90 years. A piece of Buffalo history was bulldozed over and pretty much forgotten, so I thought it would be worth highlighting the fort and the hospital units because this era was when it made its most significant impact.”
The exhibit also delves into Fort Porter’s transformation into U.S. General Hospital No. 4, which specialized in psychiatric care for soldiers returning from overseas service.
United States of America General Hospital Number 4, Fort Porter, New York. A group of patients is in the solarium.
“The hospital pulled experienced psychiatric doctors and aides from hospitals around the country to help soldiers who had returned home with shell shock (now known as PTSD),” Murphy noted. “Additionally, with outbreaks of Spanish flu in 1918, staff and patients had to do what they could to treat the sick and slow the spread of the flu through vigilant sanitation and the use of masks.”
Fort Porter and the U.S. Medical Corps offers a fascinating glimpse into a pivotal time in Buffalo’s history and features artifacts, photographs, and documents from multiple collections that tell the story of Fort Porter’s transformation during the war.
“It’s not just about the buildings or the dates,” Murphy emphasized. “It’s about the people who served, the lives that were saved, and the stories that have been almost lost to time. It’s a way to honor their legacy and ensure their contributions are remembered.”
Fort Porter and the U.S. Medical Corps is on display through March 2026 in the basement of Abbott Hall on the University at Buffalo’s South Campus. For those unable to visit in person, an online version of the exhibit is available.
With this exhibit, a forgotten chapter of Buffalo’s military and medical history is once again in the spotlight.