After the Indian Wars ended in the late 19th century, the U.S. Army consolidated small posts into larger permanent installations and ordered construction of a new post at this location in 1890. Fort Bliss was selected over Fort Selden, New Mexico, for its strategic position on the U.S.-Mexico border at the meeting point of five railroads, and citizens of El Paso donated 1,266 acres for the site. Construction began in 1892 under Captain George Ruhlen, Assistant Quartermaster and officer in charge, with a standard frontier-post layout of officers quarters on one side of a parade ground and barracks, mess hall, and hospital opposite. While the guardhouse and several other structures followed standard Army plans, Ruhlen designed many of the earliest brick buildings, including Queen Anne style officers quarters, headquarters, mess, and barracks along the Parade Field. Quartermaster warehouses, granaries, and stables in the 2000 Area were built of local blue limestone north of Officers’ Row beside the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad tracks. The facilities accommodated a garrison of four infantry companies, and the extensive use of durable materials showed that the post was intended to be permanent. This sixth location became Fort Bliss’s final home, and its original parade ground served for drill, reviews, and ceremonies, with room for 500 men, a full complement of officers quarters facing it, and a bandstand and 100-ft flagpole at its center until after World War II.