Fort Sherman, Idaho

While on an inspection tour in 1877, General William Tecumseh Sherman camped by Coeur d’Alene Lake and was so impressed by the scenery of the area that he recommended it as a site for a fort. Sherman’s recommendation received attention the following year, and on April 16, 1878, a military post known as Camp Coeur d’Alene was established. The name was changed to Fort Coeur d’Alene on April 5, 1879, and finally to Fort Sherman, April 6, 1887. The departure of the command on April 21, 1898, for participation in the Spanish-American War signaled the demise of the fort. A small detachment remained; but in April 1901, when the reservation was turned over to the Interior Department, they relocated at Fort George Wright, Washington. In the summer of 1905, the reservation was sold at public auction. Before selling the land, the government set aside twenty acres for a park and twenty acres for a cemetery as the property of the city of Coeur d’Alene. The Stack and Gibbs Lumber Company purchased a large share of the land. Much of the site today is occupied by the North Idaho College. Only a handful of the original 52 structures now remain.

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