When President Woodrow Wilson declared war, all young men between the ages of 21 and 30 were required to register for the draft. The United States was unprepared at that time, to fight a major war. 16 training camps were set up across the country to train these men for battle. Chillicothe was selected as an army camp location because just north of town there was a large area of flat land, pure water, good drainage, and excellent railroad facilities.
Please click on the read titles to pull up the PDF.
Flu Pandemic of 1918 Camp Sherman suffers many losses due to the Flu pandemic.
- Want more information on Camp Sherman?
The Rise and Fall of Camp Sherman by G. Richard Peck
You can visit the Ross County Historical Society Museum and Hopewell Culture National Historic Park.
The History Section at http://www.chillicotheinfo.net has information and pictures.
The Ross County Historical Society has a collection of Camp Sherman photos on their Tumblr site: http://rosscountyhistoricalsociety.tumblr.com/search/Camp+Sherman
Hands On!
The Ross County Historical Society has a “suitcase museum” program. If your class is learning about WWI or Camp Sherman, you can borrow this case full of artifacts the students can handle and explore. A lesson plan and photos are included.