Marker Text
On April 27, 1875, General George A. Crook assumed command of the Department of the Platte, which then included Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and part of Montana and Idaho. When the headquarters was shifted from downtown Omaha to Fort Omaha (Omaha Barracks) in 1878, Crook first lived in wooden quarters. An Army authorization for new quarters was approved on June 18, 1878, and this two-story brick structure, Italianate in style, was completed in 1879. The use of troop labor reduced its cost to $7,716.00.
In November, 1879, General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant stayed at the Crook House for three days, and the garrison was invited to a reception. The Crooks’ furniture having not yet arrived, the people of Omaha loaned the necessary furnishings. A succession of the Nation’s influential citizens have been entertained here. From here, President Rutherford B. Hayes reviewed the fort’s troops on September 3, 1890.
General Crook spent almost forty years on the frontier and was respected by the Indians as a man of honor. He died March 21, 1890, and he and his wife are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The Crook House has served throughout the years as the home of the commanding officer of the post. The home was entered on the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1969.
Location
W Rd, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska View this marker’s location 41.310261, -95.96013
