Sign Text for Nebraska Landmark #75:
A military post was first established here in 1868 and named Sherman Barracks after the famous Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman. The post’s name was soon changed to Omaha Barracks and, in 1878, to Fort Omaha. In 1879, General George Crook, noted Indian fighter and head (1875-1882, 1886-1888) of the Army’s Department of the Platte, occupied a new brick home here, which is still standing.
By the late 1880s, the 80-some acres of Fort Omaha had become insufficient for the Army’s needs. A larger post, Fort Crook, was established near Bellevue and Fort Omaha was closed in 1896. In 1905, it reopened as an Army Signal Corps training school. Closed in 1913, the fort again reopened in 1916, this time as a training school for the crews of Army observation balloons. About 16,000 men trained here in preparation for service in World War II.
When the Army declared Fort Omaha surplus property in 1947, it became a Naval Reserve Manpower Center. Since then it has served as a recruiting, training, and administrative facility for several branches of the armed forces.
More about Fort Omaha:
Fort Omaha was established in the aftermath of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, by which the US Army abandoned their posts along the Bozeman Trail (Forts Reno, Phil Hearny, and C.F. Smith), and set up the Great Sioux Reservation! This fort was intended to replace all of those posts as a staging point for troops to be sent out west on the Union Pacific Railroad! Multiple towns bid to be the location of the new fort, but Omaha, with its access to rail and river transportation, won out!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Nebraska Historical Marker Program!
- Donate to Metropolitan Community College (MCC)!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
NW corner of 30th St and Fort St
Omaha, NE 68111
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!