Fort Custer has an ironic history.
The area was originally founded as Harmonia, a utopian community dedicated to peace and human rights, and was home to Sojourner Truth for ten years. In 1917, the U.S. government purchased the land and transformed it into Camp Custer, a military training facility for World War I. It later became Fort Custer and trained more than 300,000 American soldiers during World War II, while also housing about 5,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.
After the war, the military installation gradually closed, and its former land was divided among the Fort Custer Industrial Park, Fort Custer Recreation Area, Fort Custer National Cemetery, and the continuing Fort Custer Training Area and Michigan Air National Guard.
What began as Harmonia, a community founded on peace and unity, ultimately became a place associated with war, military service, recreation, remembrance, and international economic cooperation. This is its story.