The Benicia Camel Barn Museum stems from
Benicia's unusual contribution to U.S. military history. In the 1850s and 1860s, the Army experimented using camels as pack animals in the Southwest desert. However, because of the outbreak of the Civil War, the project was shelved and the camels were shipped to the Benicia Arsenal to be sold.
The Museum is located on the second floor of Building #9.
The job of collecting artifacts for a museum began in 1975. Items were stored at a number of different locations until the Arsenal site became available. The Benicia City Council dedicated the Camel Barn Complex as a museum on December 7, 1982. Numerous local individuals and groups contributed to the successful conversion of the facility to museum use.
A variety of displays and exhibits recount the history of Benicia & the U.S. Army arsenal.
