#FlashbackFriday: How a Room for Soldiers’ Entertainment Evolved Into the Exchange
The post exchange system was established on July 25, 1895. Military canteens, like the one at Fort Keoug pictured above, served Soldiers before then. The first military canteen was at Vancouver Barracks, in what is now Washington State. In 1880, Post Commander Col. Henry Morrow grew frustrated that many of his Soldiers were going into town to buy personal possessions, but kept winding up in bars, houses of ill repute and the barracks brig.
Opened on Nov. 29, 1880, the canteen was in a room in one of the buildings at Vancouver Barracks where soldiers could play cards and shoot pool while enjoying food and drink. Writing and reading material were also available—so that Soldiers wouldn’t have to buy them in town, where they might succumb to other temptations. (The Exchange still has a presence at Vancouver Barracks, with an Express that is maintained by the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Exchange.)
The Vancouver Barracks canteen was a hit, and soon other canteens began opening throughout the developing western United States. The War Department—today’s Department of Defense—took notice and changed their names from “canteens” to “post exchanges” to avoid being associated with the bawdy nature of some European military canteens.
On July 25, 1895, the department directed all post commanders to open exchanges at their installations, thus the birth of what is today known as the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.
To learn more about the Exchange’s history, visit the interactive history timeline at https://publicaffairs-sme.com/Community/history and the Exchange’s history album on Flickr.
Sources: Exchange Post archives, Exchange History Flickr
