 During World War II, German and Italian prisoners of war were housed on the grounds; the fort's chapel was built by members of the Afrika Korps.In 1949, the fort was abandoned by the Army and transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which uses it as its Grazinglands Research Laboratory.The laboratory's mission is to develop and deliver improved technologies, management strategies, and strategic and tactical planning tools which help evaluate and manage economic and environmental risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs, for integrated crop, forage, and livestock systems under variable climate, energy and market conditions.