During World War I, the U.S. Army built more than 100 buildings around the star fort for General Hospital No. 2. One of the largest military hospitals in the country, it housed 3,000 wounded soldiers from the battlefields of France, and more than 1,000 staff worked there. From 1917 until 1923, the fort also served as a surgical center, where medical staff made major advances in neurosurgery and reconstructive surgery. General Hospital No. 2 was also one of the country's first schools to help reintegrate disabled soldiers into civilian life by offering special classes in typing, knitting, metal work, automobile repair, and other trades.