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A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
A SERVICE OF OHIO'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING STATIONS
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The United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917. Largely through the efforts of Attorney John Poland of Chillicothe, the War Department selected Chillicothe as the site of an Army training camp for recruits from Ohio, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. Construction began at Camp Sherman, named for Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman in June, 1917. When the first recruits arrived in September, more than 14,000 workers had erected 2000 buildings on the site. Camp Sherman became the third largest camp in the nation during World War One. By the time the war ended in 1919, more than 40,000 troops had been trained at Camp Sherman. The rapid influx of soldiers increased Chillicothe's population from 16,000 to 60,000.
October 15, 2012