Military Fort

Four companies of the 9th Cavalry were encamped at Fort Lewis in 1881 and 1892. The Buffalo soldiers were officially designated by Congress in July 1866 when it voted to permanently add 6 exclusively Black Regiments to the United States Army. The new Regiments included the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 24th and 25th infantry.

The buildings were on the perimeter of one of the largest parade grounds in the United States (500 by 150 yards). At the north end were the commissary, the post trader's store, the theatre and dance hall, and the headquarters' office. On the east side were the barracks for the troops. Behind the barracks on the river bank were stables for the horses. Facing the barracks across the parade ground on the west were the houses occupied by officers and their families.

The military hospital was converted to a girls' dormitory for the Indian School. It was known as Lewis Hall (a girls' dormitory until Lory Hall was completed in 1930). After which, one wing served as a single women's faculty housing and classrooms were located upstairs.