La Salle County Historical Society to host talk June 15 on Camp Grant

The La Salle County Historical Society will be hosting a presentation 1 p.m. Saturday, June 15, on Camp Grant given by Greg Jacobs.

The presentation will be given at Heritage Center, 208 Clark St., Utica. The cost of the presentation is a $5 donation to the museum for non-members and is free to all LCHS membership. No RSVP needed.

Camp Grant was established in 1917 with the United States entrance into World War I and named after Ulysses S Grant. Troops began to arrive at the camp in September of 1917 for infantry training. The famous 86th Infantry Division was formed there; they are better known as the “Blackhawk” Division. By September of 1918 Camp Grant was affected by the Spanish Influenza Pandemic and lost 1,000 men between Sept. 23, 1918 and Oct. 1, 1918.

By 1924 the facility had been handed over to the Illinois National Guard. The Civilian Conservation Corps used the facility between 1933 and 1935 for their operations. In 1941 the camp was reactivated for the World War II effort and saw 100,000 medical personal trained for the Army Medical Service and 2,500 POWs housed. The Camp deactivated by 1946 and the land that the camp occupied is now part of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

Jacobs will present the history of Camp Grant, how it affected neighboring communities and information about those soldiers and civilians who worked and served there.