Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an

Indian War Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asi ...

-era

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day

North Omaha, Nebraska North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ea ...

, the facility is primarily occupied by Metropolitan Community College. A Navy Operational Support Center and

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

unit, along with an Army Reserve unit occupy the periphery of the fort. The government deeded all but four parcels of the land to Metropolitan Community College in 1974. This is where Ponca Chief Standing Bear and 29 fellow Ponca were held prior to the landmark 1879 trial of ''

Standing Bear v. Crook Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...

.'' Judge Elmer Dundy determined that American Indians were persons within the meaning of the law and that the Ponca were illegally detained after leaving Indian Territory in January 1879. The Fort Omaha historic district is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The district includes the 1879 General Crook House Museum, as well as the 1879 Quartermaster's office, 1878 commissary, 1884 guardhouse, 1883 ordnance magazine and 1887 mule stables.

About

Opened in 1868 as a supply depot for various forts along the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

, Fort Omaha is primarily occupied by Metropolitan Community College. It continues to house Navy, Marine and Army Reserve units. The fort is located in the present-day

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

neighborhood of

North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...

. The site includes the General Crook House, which is listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The entire fort is listed as an historic district on the NRHP.

History

Sherman Barracks, also known as Camp Sherman, was established in 1868 by Captain William Sinclair of the 3rd U.S. Artillery and named in honor of Lt. General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

. It was located on an 82.5-acre tract north of Omaha and south of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. Pioneer entrepreneur

Augustus Kountze Augustus Kountze (November 19, 1826–April 30, 1892) was an American businessman based in Omaha, Nebraska, Kountze, Texas and New York City. He founded a late 19th-century national banking dynasty along with his brothers Charles, Herman and ...

sold land for the installation to the federal government. The following year the name was changed to Omaha Barracks. General Sherman was said to have complained about such a small site being named after him. On December 30, 1878, the post was designated Fort Omaha. During this same time period, the U.S. Army's

Department of the Platte The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho. With headquarters in Om ...

was organized. The fort was the department's headquarters from 1878 to 1881. The post, however, remained home to upwards of ten companies of the 2nd Infantry until 1896 when the garrison was relocated to Fort Crook near

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

. Fort Omaha was the site where Chief Standing Bear was held prior to the 1879 trial of ''

''. Standing Bear, a

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

chief, successfully argued in U.S. District Court that Native Americans were "persons within the meaning of the law" and had rights of citizenship. During the trial, Standing Bear was assisted by

Susette LaFlesche Tibbles Susette La Flesche, later Susette LaFlesche Tibbles and also called Inshata Theumba, meaning "Bright Eyes" (1854–1903), was a well-known Native American writer, lecturer, interpreter, and artist of the Omaha tribe in Nebraska. La Flesche was ...

, a famous Omaha woman who was the daughter of

Iron Eye Joseph LaFlesche, also known as ''E-sta-mah-za'' or Iron Eye (1822–1888), was the last recognized head chief of the Omaha tribe of Native Americans who was selected according to the traditional tribal rituals. The head chief Big Elk had adopte ...

, the last recognized chief of the Omaha. His lawyer was

Andrew Jackson Poppleton Andrew Jackson Poppleton (July 24, 1830 – September 9, 1896) was a lawyer and politician in pioneer Omaha, Nebraska. Serving in a variety of roles over his lifetime, his name is present throughout many of the important events of early Omaha hi ...

, a pioneer Omaha attorney who held the position of general attorney for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. The trial was the most important of Poppleton's career. Both the fort's significant role in US military history in relation to the Indian Wars, and this important civil rights trial, contributed to the site's being listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

brought the fort into usage as a muster point for troops from across Nebraska. Camp Meiklejohn, Camp Augur and Camp Vincent were all subordinate troop sites around Omaha under command of the fort. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Fort Omaha was used as a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

to house

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

soldiers captured in Europe.

Notable personnel

* Major General George Crook * Major General Stuart Heintzelman * Brigadier General Dan Christie Kingman * Brigadier General George G. Lundberg

Fort Omaha Balloon School

In 1907 the Army built a large steel hangar at Fort Omaha for use in experiments with

dirigibles An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early d ...

, a program that was abandoned in 1909. This program and its successor were part of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

. A balloon house was built in 1908, and in 1909 the first balloon flight took place. The military acquired additional space for training called Florence Field, at the corner of North 30th and Martin Streets in North Omaha. Shortly after the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 800 men immediately enlisted in the

Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and con ...

. They were sent to the Fort Omaha Balloon School for training. They later provided forward observations for the artillery. More than 16,000 airmen went through the Balloon School. In 1917 the Army determined that weather conditions at Fort Omaha were not suitable for rapidly training balloon companies. The next year a contingent of officers and men from Fort Omaha were assigned to

Camp John Wise Camp John Wise is a former United States Army military garrison, located in San Antonio, Texas. During World War I it was used as a training field for the U. S. Army Balloon Corps between 1917 until 1919. The airfield was one of thirty-two Air S ...

in Texas. The Balloon School at Fort Omaha was soon ended. Meanwhile, at the Florence Field site on 2 May 1918, two soldiers were burned to death and thirteen seriously burned when a Caquot-type balloon exploded.

Notable personnel

* Major Charles DeF. Chandler * Captain Frank Purdy Lahm * Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge * Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois * Lieutenant Kent Curtis

Historic District

There are six extant 19th-century structures in Fort Omaha, and the site overall has been judged significant in US history. Because of this, Fort Omaha has received numerous historical designations. The Department of the Interior designated Fort Omaha a historic district, and listed the Crook House on the

. In 1982 the

Fort Omaha Guardhouse The Fort Omaha Guardhouse was built in 1883 to handle Native American, civilian and military prisoners of the Department of the Platte housed at Fort Omaha. Located at 5700 North 30th Street in north Omaha, Nebraska, the Guardhouse was named an O ...

was designated a Landmark under the City of Omaha's Landmark Heritage Preservation Ordinance.

General Crook House

In 1879 this

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

-style house was completed for General and Mrs. Crook for the general's continued administration of the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. Today it is used as the museum of the

Douglas County Historical Society The Douglas County Historical Society, or DCHS, is located at 5730 North 30th Street in the General Crook House at Fort Omaha in north Omaha, Nebraska. The mission of the DCHS is to collect, preserve and present to the public the history of Douglas ...

. It is filled with 19th-century Victorian-style furniture, in addition to military exhibits, and offices of the

. Ornate Victorian-style gardens have been restored on the property. It is located in the middle of Fort Omaha, at 5730 North 30th Street. It was listed on the

in 1969.

Headquarters building

Built in 1879 by the U.S. Army, the Headquarters Building at Fort Omaha first served as the home of the

during the command of General George Crook. In 1881 the headquarters moved back to

Downtown Omaha Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline ...

to be nearer to the railroads. Today the building serves as the community college's library.

Guardhouse

Originally constructed in 1861, the current guardhouse, which sits at Bourke Gate, was built in 1883. Expanded several times, it was designated an

Omaha Landmark This article covers Omaha Landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Nation ...

in 1982.Fort Omaha Guardhouse
City of Omaha.

Current usage

After World War II, Fort Omaha was placed under control of the US Navy. Today, several perimeter facilities are used as a training locations for the Marine Corps Reserve, as well as storage and repair areas for Navy vehicles. The remainder of Fort Omaha houses a campus of the Metropolitan Community College, in addition to the

at the General Crook House and Library Archives Center.

References

External links

History of Fort Omaha
Douglas County Historical Society website.
Historic photos of Fort Omaha
Nebraska Memories website.
Historic photo of the Fort Omaha Balloon School
{{Coord, 41, 18, 25, N, 95, 57, 26, W, display=title 1868 establishments in Nebraska Tourist attractions in Omaha, Nebraska Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska History of United States expansionism Omaha Military history of the United States during World War I National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska World War I sites in the United States World War II sites in the United States World War I airfields in the United States Omaha Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Forts along the Missouri River

About

History

Notable personnel

Fort Omaha Balloon School

Notable personnel

Historic District

General Crook House

Headquarters building

Guardhouse

Current usage

See also

References

Further reading

External links