 Camp Lewis passed from the hands of Pierce County and became the property of the federal government when the deed for 62,432 acres (253 km²) was recorded in the county auditor's office in Tacoma.When the Great War ended in 1918, the Nisqually people petitioned for their land to be returned to them, but the request was denied by the Secretary of War, Newton Baker.Brigadier General David L. Stone, who had supervised the original construction of Fort Lewis as a captain, returned as its commanding general in 1936, serving until 1937.