Fort Sherman - Coeur d'Alene, ID - Military Installations on Waymarking.com

Camp Coeur d'Alene had three reasons for its existence: (1) keeping the peace in northern Idaho, (2) protecting railroad and telegraph crews, and (3) guarding the border with Canada. The first two objectives occupied the troops most of the time, as there were few problems on the northern border.

Troops stationed at the post must have found it in some ways an ideal duty station, because they were seldom called upon to take the field against threatening forces. In fact, only twice were they summoned to protect the interests of North Idaho citizens. On July 12, 1878, the troops took the field to participate in the Bannock Indian War. However, the extent of their involvement turned out to be only a hurried march to Fort Lapwai as they were back at their duty stations on August 1. (The Bannock campaign never got even close to North Idaho.) During the Coeur d'Alene mining troubles of 1892, the troops received a call to restore order. The soldiers, under the command of Colonel William P. Carlin, left the fort on July 12, 1892. They were equipped in heavy marching gear which consisted of eight rations and 100 rounds of ammunition per man. They were transported on the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's steamer to Harrison and thence by rail to Wardner. At this point a command post was established. Upon arrival the troops aided the civil authorities in making arrests and preserving martial law. In September of 1892, sub-posts were created at Wallace, Burke, Gem, and Wardner, under the command of Lt. Colonel H. C. Cook, Fourth Infantry. The sub-posts were disbanded in November, 1892.

Many considered Fort Sherman to be one of the most scenic posts in the United States, but the soldiers stationed there sometimes took a dimmer view of the situation. The site was only five feet above the level of the lake, which periodically flooded the parade grounds. The floods caused numerous problems for the troops, as noted in the following remarks entered in the May 1894 monthly report:

"The water of the lake and river Coeur d'Alene continued rising during the month and on the 25th instant the dike protecting the post from the overflow of the river broke, and a great part of the reservation became submerged. The water continued to rise and on the same day the lake overflowed its banks and further inundated the post, only a narrow strip of ground on the parade and along the lake showing above the flood. Officers quarters except No's 5, 6, 7, and 18 being flooded from one to five feet deep, the guard house, hospital, storehouses and other public buildings being uninhabitable. Water surrounds all the company barracks. Obtaining good water for the fort also caused a problem from the beginning, and $7,000 had to be spent on a pump and pipe system."

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.

Era: Other General Comments: Three of the main buildings which remain are an officers' quarters, the powder magazine and the post chapel. They are listed on the National Registery of Historic Places, as is a residental neighborhood which was once part of the original fort. Related web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/25/2010 TheBeanTeam visited it