St. Robert: The Town Fort Leonard Wood Built

The small city of Saint Robert exists almost entirely because of the installation sitting just north of it. Fort Leonard Wood was carved out of the Ozark hills in nineteen forty, built in a matter of months to train soldiers for World War Two. The surrounding towns were overwhelmed by the influx. A new community called Saint Robert grew up specifically to provide municipal services, housing, and commerce for the soldiers and families attached to the post.

Fort Leonard Wood eventually became one of the Army's primary training installations, specializing in military engineering, military police, and chemical defense. Today the fort trains many thousands of soldiers and civilians every year. Saint Robert grew alongside it, a town whose economy, identity, and population have always tracked the rhythms of the military mission next door.