Kentucky: National Guard History eMuseum

The National Guard has been in Middlesboro since at least the late 1940s. The 916th Ambulance Company was in Middlesboro from 1947 to 1963, and the unit served in Korea. A plaque on the front of the armory provides a brief description of the 916th and its duties. During the years 1963 to 1986, a 223rd Military Police unit was organized, and in the early 1970s a detachment of Company A of the 1/149th Infantry was stationed in Middlesboro. Company A was located in Harlan. In 1986-87, the detachment became a full company, Company D of the 1/149th Infantry. Company D is still the current unit at Middlesboro, and a few volunteers participated in Desert Storm. The men trained at Fort Irwin, California, but did not get a chance to go overseas.

The unit at Middlesboro has been involved in many state active duty missions. The Guard has helped during floods and snow emergencies, and from May 10-16, 1988, the entire unit was activated to help with tornado cleanup and emergency relief after a tornado swept through town. During the February 1998 snowstorm, a few of the men were called to active duty, but they did not have any missions since Middlesboro only had about 4 inches of snow. During snow emergencies, the armory is usually open to people who need a place to stay or who don't have electricity. The company at Middlesboro was activated to help during a forest fire in 1995-96. A Department of Emergency Services (DES) office is also located in the armory.

Besides state active duty, the National Guard participates in community activities such as the Mountain Laurel Festival, color guards for special events, Christmas parades in Middlesboro and Pineville, and the Fall Festival, held annually the first weekend of October. Political rallies , carnivals, meetings, political rallies, and voting/polling have all taken place in the armory drill hall. In addition, the Junior ROTC uses the drill hall as a banquet hall, and a VA counselor comes in once a month to meet with veterans. Once a year, members of the 916th Ambulance Company hold a reunion at the armory.

Next door to the current armory is the old armory (1950), now used as a maintenance and Motor Vehicle Storage Building (MVSB). The National Guard has more equipment now than they did in the past, and in the late 1960s and early 70s they began to have more vehicles and equipment. In 1950, the MVSB would have served a dual purpose - as both a vehicle storage facility and an armory. Following World War II, the Guard would have received more equipment, precipitating the need for Motor Vehicle Storage Buildings.

Middlesboro Motor Vehicle Storage Building

The MVSB is a large one-and-a-half story concrete block building with a corrugated metal roof. The interior of the building is open, with a few concrete block rooms on the inside. The doors to these rooms are the original wooden and metal ones. The interior and exterior of the building appear to be largely unaltered, and the building appears to be in good shape. The windows are multi-paned metal casement windows near the front gabled roofline. The exterior doors are the original metal ones. A large metal garage door is located on the front facade of the building, and a smaller garage door is located on the side, near the back of the building. The interior of the building has a metal truss roof with original metal light fixtures suspended from the metal trussing. The interior has some wire caging for equipment storage, and a concrete floor. The MVSB is eligible for the National Register based on its date of construction, its history in the Kentucky National Guard (criterion A), and its historic integrity and type of construction (criterion C). The current armory is not eligible due to its date of construction, but may be eligible in roughly ten years if it still maintains most of its original materials.

Middlesboro Armory