Fort Omaha

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Fort Omaha Historic District
(U.S. Registered Historic District)
Nebraska State Historical Marker for Fort Omaha at the corner of 30th and Fort Streets
Nebraska State Historical Marker for Fort Omaha at the corner of 30th and Fort Streets
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Added to NRHP: March 27, 1974
NRHP Reference#: 74001112 [1]
Governing body: United States Navy

Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation where the important trial of Standing Bear v. Crook was held. Located at 5300 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility today is owned by the United States Navy, providing storage for equipment and hosting a Marine Corps Reserve unit. The Navy also leases buildings at the Fort to the Metropolitan Community College.

The Fort Omaha Historical District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 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.

Contents

[edit] About

Opened in 1868 as a supply depot for various forts along the Platte River, Fort Omaha is currently the home of Metropolitan Community College.[2] Today the Fort is located in the Miller Park neighborhood of North Omaha. It is the site of the General Crook House, which, along with the Fort itself, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

[edit] History

Sherman Barracks, also known as Camp Sherman, was established by Captain William Sinclair of the 3rd U.S. Artillery and named in honor of Lt. General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1868. Located on an 82-½ acre tract four miles (6 km) north of Omaha and 1½ miles south of Florence. Pioneer entrepreneur Augustus Kountze sold land for the installment to the federal government. The following year the name was changed to Omaha Barracks, when it is said that General Sherman complained about such a small site being named after him.[3]

On December 30, 1878, the post was designated Fort Omaha. During this same time period, the U. S. Army's Department of the Platte 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.[4]

The Spanish-American War 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.

Fort Omaha is perhaps most remarkable for its role in the 1879 trial of Standing Bear v. Crook. Standing Bear, a Ponca chief, successfully argued in U.S. District Court that Native Americans are "persons within the meaning of the law" and have the rights of citizenship. During the trial Standing Bear was assisted by Susette LaFlesche Tibbles, a famous Omaha who was the daughter of Iron Eye, the last recognized chief of the Omaha. His lawyer was Andrew Jackson Poppleton, a pioneer Omaha attorney who held the position of general attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad. The trial was the most important of his career.[5]

In World War II Fort Omaha was a prisoner of war camp for Italian Army soldiers.

[edit] Notable personnel

[edit] Fort Omaha Balloon School

Dirigeables such as this French version operated during the First World War.
Dirigeables such as this French version operated during the First World War.

A large steel hanger was built at Fort Omaha in 1907 for use in experiments with dirigibles, a program that was abandoned in 1909. This program and its successor were part of the American Expeditionary Forces.[6]

A balloon house was built in 1908, and in 1909 the first balloon flight occurred. An additional space for training called Florence Field was acquired at the corner of North 30th and Martin Streets in North Omaha.[7] 800 men immediately enlisted in the US Army Signal Corps shortly after the United States entered World War I. They were sent to the Fort Omaha Balloon School for training, and afterwards, provided forward observations for the artillery.[8] [9] More than 16,000 airmen eventually 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 in Texas, and the Balloon School at Fort Omaha was soon entirely gone.[10]

[edit] Notable personnel

[edit] Historic District

There are six extant 19th century structures in Fort Omaha, in addition its overall significance. 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 National Register of Historic Places. In 1982 the Fort Omaha Guardhouse was designated a Landmark under the City of Omaha's Landmark Heritage Preservation Ordinance.

[edit] General Crook House

East-facing entrance to Crook House
East-facing entrance to Crook House
Main article: General Crook House

In 1879 this Italianate-style house was completed for General and Mrs. Crook for the General's continued administration of the Indian Wars. Today it is the Douglas County Historical Society museum, and is filled with 1800s Victorian-style furniture, with military exhibits, ornate Victorian-style gardens and the Douglas County Historical Society. It is located in the middle of Fort Omaha, at 5730 North 30th Street.[11] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

[edit] Headquarters building

Built in 1879 by the U.S. Army, the Headquarters Building at Fort Omaha first served as the home of the Department of the Platte during the command of General George Crook. In 1881 the headquarters moved back to Downtown Omaha to be nearer to the railroads.[12] Today the building serves as the community college's library.

[edit] Guardhouse

Main article: Fort Omaha Guardhouse

Originally constructed in 1861, the current Guardhouse was built in 1883. Over the course of its usage the Fort Omaha Guardhouse housed numerous notable prisoners. Its most famous was Ponca Chief Standing Bear. On March 31, 1879, General George Crook met with the imprisoned Ponca at the Fort Omaha guardhouse. It was there that he said to the General,

“ I thought God intended us to live, but I was mistaken. God intends to give the country to the White people, and we are to die.[13] ”

Expanded several times, the Guardhouse, which sits at Bourke Gate, was designated an Omaha Landmark in 1982.[14]

[edit] Current usage

After WWII 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 and the Douglas County Historical Society at the General Crook House. Fort Omaha Historic District

[edit] Image gallery

State historical marker

General Crook House

Bourke Gate plaque

State historical marker for Crook House

Statue of Crook in Crook House Gardens

George Crook

Frank Purdy Lahm

Thomas Etholen Selfridge

Benjamin Delahauf Foulois

Stuart Heintzelman

Dan Christie Kingman

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ (n.d.) Fort Omaha HistoricOmaha.Com
  3. ^ "Omaha Street Names." Douglas County Historical Society. Retrieved 9/18/07.
  4. ^ (nd) Fort Omaha. Douglas County Historical Society. Retrieved 9/18/07.
  5. ^ (nd) More Historical National Register Places in Nebraska Nebraska Historical Society.
  6. ^ Rea, L. (nd) Brief History of the Fort Omaha Balloon School. Douglas County Historical Society.
  7. ^ Omaha Military History. Retrieved 8/16/07.
  8. ^ Collins, W. (1919) History of Fort Omaha. Omaha: M. F. Shafer & Co.
  9. ^ Herbert, C. (n.d.) A Balloon's Eye View of World War One. Undated paper for the National Association of American Balloon Corps Veterans.
  10. ^ DesChenes, R. (n.d.) The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces: 43rd Balloon Company AEF. Great War Society.
  11. ^ "Fort Omaha and the General Crook House". Douglas County Historical Society.
  12. ^ "Omaha Military History". Retrieved 9/15/07.
  13. ^ (nd) This Land Is Ours Teaching Tolerance.
  14. ^ Fort Omaha Guardhouse. City of Omaha.

[edit] External links

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