The Post of Omaha, Nebraska, began training Civil War Volunteers in 1863. Three years later, it became the headquarters of the Department of the Platte. In 1868, a new post was activated four miles northwest of the city. Known as Sherman Barracks the first year, and then as Omaha Barracks, in 1878, it was redesignated as Fort Omaha.

From 1875 to 1882 and from 1886 to 1888, as commander of the Department of the Platte, Brigadier General George Crook was stationed at the post when he was not in the field. He directed many major campaigns on the northern Plains, during which numerous troops passed through Fort Omaha.

The Fort Omaha garrison moved in 1896 to Fort Crook, which had been activated five years earlier, about 10 miles south of Omaha, as the New Post of Fort Omaha. The first soldiers arrived there in 1895.

In 1905, the Army reactivated Fort Omaha, and during World War I, it used it for a balloon school. The Navy had jurisdiction over the base beginning in 1947. Metropolitan Community College obtained the property through a quitclaim deed from the Federal Government in 1975. However, facilities for the military reserve forces are still in place at the fort’s perimeter.

Seven buildings from the 1870s and 1880s have survived. One of the oldest is the commanding officer’s house, or Crook House, completed in 1879. Its first tenant was General Crook, and it is the only building on-site that visitors can tour. A large two-story brick structure, asymmetrical in plan, Italianate in style, and crowned by hipped roofs, it is in good condition. A long one-story porch projects from its eastern facade. The interior has been altered over the years, but the exterior has changed little. The fort is located in northern Omaha at 30th and Fort Streets.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2025.

Also See:

Forts Across America

Nebraska Forts

Nebraska – The Cornhusker State

Old West Legends

See Sources.