Fort Oglethorpe is a city predominantly in Catoosa County with some portions in Walker County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,423. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Lakeview – Fort Oglethorpe High School. History The United States Army established a cavalry post at the site of Hargrave, Georgia, an unincorporated town situated next to the Chickamauga National Battlefield. The existing settlement was named for a Confederate soldier, William Hamilton Hargrave, who along with his wife Amelia Cecilia Strange-Hargrave owned most of the land in the area. The couple was well known in the 19th century to travellers heading to Ross's Landing on the Tennessee River from LaFayette, Georgia. William Hargrave and other landowners in the area were forced to sell their property to the Army to be used as a base for the 6th Cavalry. The Chickamauga Post established in 1902 by the U.S. Army was later named Fort Oglethorpe after James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia. During and after World War I, the fort served between 1917 and 1920 as an detention camp for civilian internees and prisoners of war. During World War II, the area served as a war-time induction and processing center, and again housed prisoners of war. Fort Oglethorpe was a major training center for the Women's Army Corps during World War II. The post land was declared surplus in 1947 and returned to civilian hands, forming the nucleus for a town that was incorporated in 1949. Geography Fort Oglethorpe is located in western Catoosa County and northeastern Walker County at (34.945683, -85.245653). It is south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, by U.S. Route 27, which also leads south to LaFayette, Georgia. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park takes up the southern two-thirds of the city's area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,423 people, 3,994 households, and 2,240 families residing in the city. 2000 census As of the 2000 U.S. census, there were 6,940 people, 2,873 households, and 1,881 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,108 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.14% White, 2.38%