Fort Sheridan Through the Years

With the recent hub-bub floating around The Lake County Forest Preserves Board , Patch wanted to take a trip down memory lane. You might say the buildings of Fort Sheridan owe its glacial past.

Carved out more than 15,000 years ago, the glacial moraines along northern Lake Michigan left streams meandering through wooded ravines, blooming with various lakeside flora and fauna.

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And with an abundance of lumber only an ax's throw away, sand from nearby beaches and clay from bluff deposits, the fort is a cream-colored testament to the land it was built on and inhabitants that made it what it is today.

Below is a timeline of its more than 300-year development, including recent debate over a proposed, golf course on the fort's property:

Early Settlements

1670 — French traders establish the fort as a trading post, neighboring an Indian trail that runs from Chicago to Green Bay, Wis. Native Americans have used the trail to travel between hunting grounds.

Later, settlers use it to ship goods between trading posts.

1840s — The community of St. Johns is settled (in what is now the southeast corner of the fort complex along a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan). Villagers log trees, cast irons, mold bricks and use a long pier at the edge of the lake to ship harvested lumber.

1865 — After extensive lumbering and decades of brick production (by this time, 400,000 were produced annually using clay deposits along the bluffs), most villagers abandoned St. Johns.

Fortification

1871 — On Oct. 8 the Great Chicago Fire burns down 18,000 buildings, leaving thousands homeless and prompting Mayor Roswell Mason to declare martial law. General Phillip H. Sheridan (1831-1838), a renowned Union leader during the Civil War, organizes relief efforts throughout the city.

1886 — Following almost a decade of labor unrest, Chicago becomes embroiled in the Haymarket Affair on May 4. U.S. troops are sent into the city to quell uprisings from an outraged populace.

1887 — In response to the affair, the Commercial Club of Chicago purchases 632 acres, 25 miles north of the city, and donates it to the U.S. government.

The government, in turn, agrees to construct a military base on the property (using an estimated 6-million bricks from clay pits extracted from the bluffs) and hires Chicago architects Holabird & Roche to design the uniform buildings.

Moreover, renowned landscape architect O.C. Simonds is hired to design the roads, parklands and the Parade Grounds on the property. Against common practice Simonds' designs preserved the ravines in their natural state.

1894 — Only once, during the Pullman Strikes, are troops stationed at the fort called to Chicago to address labor unrest.

1898 — The fort evolves into a training, assembly and administrative center during the Spanish American War and continues to function in this capacity into World War II.

The Cold War Era — The fort supplies and maintains Nike anti-aircraft missile systems from 1953 to 1973, when the post, once again, assumes a logistical purpose.

Prospects

1992 — The Lake County Forest Preserve, led by Illinois Rep. John Porter, expresses interest in reusing the land for outdoor recreation, housing and an 18-hole golf course.

1993 — The fort's army post (slated for closure in 1988 by a government entity) closes. A planning committee comprised of officials from four North Shore municipalities is formed to discuss reuse.

Shortly after, the forest preserve allocates $1.75 million for access and restoration.

1994 — The forest preserve leases the original golf course for public use. The planning committee adopts an 18-hole golf-course concept, which the U.S. army concurs with.

At Millennium's End — Under federal legislation, the fort (including the cemetery and all open space), along with its plant and endangered-animal life, must be protected. After agreements with a local redevelopment authority, catholic charities and the Town of Fort Sheridan are reached, the public approves $3.75 million for restoration, roadways, parking, facilities and trails along the lake.

New Developments

2001 — The forest preserve approves a master plan, including reconstructing an 18-hole golf course out of the existing one, public roads and parking, three miles of trails and a visitors center. In addition, they plan on restoring the lake shore and ravines, and improving storm-water drainage and erosion.

2005 — After hiring hiring a golf course architect in 2002, the forest preserve approves the Nike-missile silo demolition and closes the golf course in 2003.

While awaiting reconstruction for the new course in 2004, the original course conditions worsen and bids for the new course are ultimately rejected by numerous committees.

Plans for a nine-hole golf course, instead of an 18-hole one, are proposed.

2009 — Now open: parking and nature trails — including 1.3-miles of asphalt from the entrance to the lake, a wood-chip trail and ravine bridge.

Restoration of Hutchinson Ravine nears completion, while restoration of the south bluff is underway. Bids for golf course development are dropped.

With the help of local teachers, new educational curriculum is implemented, including nature exhibits and historical information on the fort.

2011 — Given an estimated $10-million price tag and the shaky economy, it's farfetched there will be any bidders for the nine-hole golf course, a consultant tells the forest preserve. The forest preserve details a request for proposal was sent Nov. 1, 2011 to management companies and course developers.

Sources: "Low-Key Genius," by Barbara Geiger; Steven Brown, geologist from the Illinois State Geological Survey; www.fortsheridan.com; www.lcfpd.org.