Established by Congress in 1828 to store arms and munitions for the U. S. Army, Mt. Vernon Arsenal and Barracks had its original structures completed in the 1830's. The Confederacy appropriated the arsenal in 1861 and moved its equipment to Selma facilities. After the Civil War, the site was used as U. S. Army barracks and from 1887-1894 served as a holding ground for Apache Indian prisoners. It was deeded to the State of Alabama in 1895. Josiah Gorgas, later Chief of Ordnance of the Confederacy, was stationed here in the 1850's; Dr. Walter Reed, conqueror of yellow fever, served as post surgeon in the 1880's; and the Apache chieftain Geronimo was held here as a prisoner from 1887-1894. Mt. Vernon Hospital was established here in 1900 by the State of Alabama and served as a mental hospital for the care of Black citizens. In 1919 its name was changed to Searcy Hospital in honor of its first superintendent, Dr. J. T. Searcy. Treatment for all citizens began in 1969. Nine structures dating from the 1830's, including the Superintendent's House, Tower Building, and Library, remained in use, and the enclosing wall also dated from the 1830's.