UNITS ASSIGNED TO QUARRY HEIGHTS OVER TIME (More to be added)

In addition to the headquarters of the senior military commands at Quarry Heights (see Senior Commands), the following were some of the units also assigned at there

Military Police Company, Company A (organized May 1918; redesignated July 1921 as Headquarters Military Police Company and considered as Special Troops of the Panama Canal Division)

10^th Signal Company (considered as Special Troops of the Panama Canal Division) – moved to Corozal April 1922

10^th Ordnance Company (Maintenance) (considered as Special Troops of the Panama Canal Division) – moved to Corozal April 1922

Touring Car Detachment (assigned July 1919)

29^th Infantry, Company L (relieved by 33^rd Infantry, Company F July 1916)

33^rd Infantry, Company E (assigned October 1920)

33^rd Infantry, Company F (relieved 33^rd Infantry, Company F July 1916; before at Empire)

Motor Company #29, Quartermaster Corps

Motorcycle Company #10, Quartermaster Corps (assigned January 1921) – moved to Corozal April 1922

Headquarters, Panama Coast Artillery Defenses (transferred from Fort Amador to Quarry Heights)

11^th Signal Service Company (stationed at Quarry Heights beginning 1927)

20^th Military Police Company (inactivated Jan 1942)

760^th Military Police Battalion (formed 1942) with Companies A and B at Quarry Heights (Company B moved to Fort Clayton Sept 1943)

Army Element of the Caribbean Command (the principal units stationed at Quarry Heights in the 1950s – its officers and enlisted personnel were assigned to the joint staff sections of Headquarters, Caribbean Command)

516^th Military Police Platoon (supported Caribbean Command and safeguard security)

SOUTHERN COMMAND HEADQUARTERS STAFF

During the 1990s, the Southern Command headquarters consisted of a Command Group and Headquarters staff. The Command Group was composed of the Command in Chief, Deputy Commander in Chief/Chief of Staff, and selected staff offices that reported directly to them.  The Headquarters Staff consisted of six Joint Directorates, ten Special Staff offices, and a Washington Field Office.  A detachment from the U.S. Army South's garrison command (the Quarry Heights Detachment) was stationed at Quarry Heights.  The Joint Manpower Program for fiscal year 1992 reflected  328 officers, 179 enlisted, and 198 civilians for a total of 705, of which 153 officers, 103 enlisted and 198 civilians (totaling 454 personnel) were provided by the Army component (U.S. Army South).

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF QUARRY HEIGHTS

Quarry Heights was a picturesque historic area composed of buildings dating back to the Canal construction era. These buildings, primarily family housing units, reflected an architectural style unique to the previous Panama Canal Zone (which since 1979 was known as the Panama Canal area) -- a style which incorporated both French and American design elements for living in a hot and humid tropical climate. (The French influence dated back to the 1880s during its abortive attempt at constructing a canal through Panama. Then the French constructed Ancon Hospital on another slope of Ancon Hill.)

The framed houses and buildings were from the beginning considered to be temporary. Because of the immediate need for housing, it was determined earl on that temporary facilities would be erected until such time as funding and timer were made available for the construction of permanent facilities.  Thus, many of the temporary facilities at Quarry Heights -- many still in use -- originated with the French and early U.S. construction era. 

Despite several proposals to demolish the old Isthmian Canal Commission wood houses at Quarry Heights -- which were considered oversized, substandard, and inadequate -- and replace them with modern family housing, none of the proposals were accepted or acted on.  Perhaps this is because the personnel assigned to the quarters preferred living in the historically significant homes, perhaps indulging themselves in the simple qualities and harmony of a different, bygone era.

All those structures that survived the years (namely, the houses) were very maintenance intensive, particularly fighting the perennial termites.  Routine maintenance included spraying each house (covered by tents during the process) between the moving out of the previous family and the moving in of the new occupants.

ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF QUARRY HEIGHTS

About 31 percent (encompassing 21 acres) of Quarry Heights (and the adjacent residential areas of Gorgas Hospital and Herrick Heights) is covered by deciduous forest.  The dominant species are the Ear tree (Enterolobium schomburgkii), Wild banyan tree (Ficus citrifolia), and Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata).  The deciduous forest in this area has long been protected from disturbances by fencing (in those areas free of infrastructure).  Among numerous ornamental and/or fruit trees near houses and buildings have been Mango (Mangifera indica), Cuban royal palm (Roystonea oleracia), Ixora (Ixora coccinea), Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera), Spanish elm (Cordia alliodora), and Royal poinciana (Delonyx regia).

In this area, 32 plant species were registered, one special element and 12 species of economic importance. including one endemic palm (Acrocomia panamensis).  

Also, 57 bird species have been observed in this area, including seven migrant species and two species protected by Panamanian law.  

Among mammal species observed on Quarry Heights have been the Agouti which is protected by Panamanian law and a squirrel species.  Occasionally, iguana and a few deer venture down from higher parts of Ancon Hill to the edges of Quarry Heights, the latter at night.