President Millard Fillmore's executive order of 1852 created a U.S. Preserve on Point Loma. From 1870 to 1873 the coast artillery corpsmen evicted whalers from the site in order to begin the military installation. In 1899 it was named for William S. Rosecrans, Civil War general and California congressman. Major fortifications were constructed in 1891-1903 and 1941-1943. Transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1957, it became a submarine support facility.

Citation from California Office of Historic Preservation