In June 1917 after the United States' entry into World War I,  the federal government built several army training camps across the country.  The third largest of these camps was built in Chillicothe, Ohio.  The camp, named Camp Sherman after General William Sherman of Civil War infamy, was built on 2000 acres of land situated between Mount Logan and Adena, the historic home of Ohio's first governor, Thomas Worthington (2).    

 Construction of the camp began in July 1917.  The camp proved to be a boon for the local economy as most of the construction workers were from the Chillicothe area.  Additionally, once soldiers and their families began to arrive, the population of Chillicothe swelled from 16,000 to 60,000 causing thousands of new homes to be built and businesses to profit.  Chillicothians opened their doors to the newcomers to help alleviate housing shortages as well as having homesick soldiers over for dinner and parties (1).

In September 1917, when the camp was 95% finished , the first trainees arrived to man the 83rd Division under Major General Edwin F. Glenn (2).  The camp housed over 40,000 soldiers.  Eventually, four divisions would be trained at Camp Sherman (1).  In addition to the 83rd, the 84th, 95th and 96th divisions were housed at the camp; however, the war ended before the last two divisions were sent overseas (1,2).

Camp Sherman cost $12.8 million to build and at its completion contained 1370 buildings (1).  The camp included three theaters, two movie and one a combination of live theatre and movies, a number of hospital buildings, a waste disposal plant (the first ever in an army training camp), a laundry, a library, a working farm complete with grain elevator, dairy cows and vegetable gardens, and a prison where German POWs were housed.  POWs performed maintenance work and farming duties (2).  It was not until September 1919, seven months after the end of the war, that the German prisoners were shipped to Fort MacPherson, Georgia where the were released and allowed to return home (1).

The camp also had its own railroad system and utilities system, all of which impacted Mound City.  Prior to the construction of the camp, plowing had leveled many of the mounds.  Those that had survived plowing, were leveled by army engineers with the  exception of the two largest mounds, the conical mound (Mound 7) and the elliptical mound (Mound 3).  William Mills, an archeologist with the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, convinced the army to construct their buildings on pylons instead of digging foundations into the ground, thereby saving the Hopewellian archeological deposits located beneath the mounds.

Probably the most profound effect Camp Sherman had on the area came in the form of an epidemic.  In 1918, Spanish Influenza infected the camp.  1400 cases were reported in September and in the month of October, that number quadrupled to over 5600.  Almost 1200 people died.  The town of Chillicothe was quarantined to prevent spread of the disease to the local population; although, many people outside of Camp Sherman were also infected and died.  The local Majestic Theater was used as a morgue with bodies "piled on the stage like cordwood...[and] body fluids were drained into the alley next to the Majestic" (1).  The alley became known as Blood Alley (1).

After the war's end in November 1918, soldiers were discharged and some of the camp facilities were used train veterans a trade so that they could find jobs.  War casualties were also cared for at the camp hospital where it was determined that long-term care facilities were needed and the Veterans Administration Hospital was established (1).

Nothing is left of the original camp today as it was systematically dismantled by the US government during the 1920s.  The land itself is still owned by the government on which now stands the Chillicothe Correctional Institute (a state run correctional facility) and the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.  Camp Sherman is memorialized at the Camp Sherman Memorial Park on State Route 104 (1).

References

(1) Casari, Robert B., Patricia F. Medert, Luvada D. Kuhn and William H. Nolan.  1996.  Chillicothe, Ohio 1796-1996: Ohio's First Capital.  Chillicothe: Chillicothe Bicentennial Commission, Inc. and the Ross Count Historical Society.

(2) Peck, G. Richard. 1972. The Rise and Fall of Camp Sherman.   Chillicothe: Peck Photography and Craftsman Printing.

Photos from HOCU archives.