In 1884 Congress authorized establishment of a Western Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Leavenworth citizens contributed $50,000 and 640 acres of land, and the Home opened here on September 1, 1885. For years, the blue of Civil War uniforms mingled on these grounds with the khaki of the Spanish American War, to be followed by mufti when uniforms were no longer required. Since 1930 the Center has operated as a Hospital and Domiciliary for the country's war veterans, and the cemetery is the final resting place of over 12,000 military dead.