East Base was built during aviator Richard Byrd’s third Antarctic expedition, the US Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939–41. It was also used in 1947–48 by the private Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, which included the first women to winter in Antarctica, Edith Ronne and Jennie Darlington. Unfortunately their husbands, who were also on the expedition, quarreled, so out of loyalty they did not speak to one another either! After the Ronne expedition departed, the UK used East Base until 1975.
The US government funded a historic preservation program at East Base in 1990–91. A small display of artifacts has been set up in one of the three base buildings, marked as a museum.