Fort Sheridan (Lake County (spanning Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park), Illinois)

Lake County (spanning Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park) · Illinois · Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II

Quick BriefEstablished in 1887 as Camp Highwood and renamed for Civil War General Philip H. Sheridan, Fort Sheridan became a major mobilization, training, and administrative center during the Spanish-American War and remained active through World War II. The fort was officially closed on May 3, 1993, following the first round of base closures under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

History & Significance

The Commercial Club of Chicago, concerned since 1877 with the need for a military garrison, was motivated by the Haymarket Riot in 1886 to arrange for the donation of 632 acres of land to the Federal Government. Troops arrived in November 1887 to what was initially called Camp Highwood, and a year later the post was renamed Fort Sheridan.

Initially garrisoned by infantry troops, the post became a cavalry post in 1892, and troops from the fort responded to labor unrest during the Pullman strikes of 1894. In 1898, Fort Sheridan became a mobilization, training, and administrative center during the Spanish-American War and continued to house these functions through World War II.

During World War I, the post served as an induction and training center for the Midwest and included an officer training camp, and after the war housed rehabilitation services for returning soldiers and served as an isolation hospital during the 1918 influenza pandemic. The 94 buildings in the Historic District, built between 1889 and 1910, include 64 structures by the architectural firm Holabird & Roche, made of bricks molded and fired on site using clay mined from lakefront bluffs. In 1984, parts of Fort Sheridan were designated a National Historic Landmark District, with the National Park Service noting the site "possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America."