Fort Custer Museum
The idea of a museum to commemorate the Fort Custer installation and its importance to the area, the state, and the nation has been talked about for years. In 2002, the Installation Commander of the
Fort Custer Training Center, formerly Fort Custer located at Augusta, Michigan, orchestrated efforts to establish a museum. He applied and received approval for the establishment of a non-profit organization, he called the Fort Custer Historical Society. Its purpose would be to establish a museum that commemorates the installation, which began in 1917 with the construction of Camp Custer and, Michigan’s Military history. An intact World War II enlisted barracks was located on the facility and moved into the installation's historical district. There, the barracks was renovated and returned to its original WWII look. It is now the Fort Custer Museum. In addition, the historical district includes the last WWII chapel, which is still used, and an enlisted recreation center of the same era. It will be used for an expansion of the museum at some time in the future. A small section of the building is now used for museum library. Lastly, the district contains a military armaments display. Now, over 100 years after its development as Camp Custer, a museum is open for public view.
In addition, when visiting the museum and the area, the old Fort Custer Cemetery, which is now part of the Fort Custer National Cemetery, and located across from the training center, contains the remains of soldiers who died at Fort Custer during its operation. It also contains the remains of twenty-six (26) WWII German Prisoners of War (POW) who died of illness or accident during their interment at the installation. Sixteen (16) of the deaths occurred in a truck/train accident at Blissfield, MI, where they were returning from a work detail on a farm.