Why It's Called Sheridan Road in Chicago-- Part 1

From the Dec. 14, 2014, Chicago Tribune by Ron Grossman.

(Or How the General Saved Chicago)

Most Chicagoans ignore the statue of the man on the horse at Belmont Avenue and Sheridan Road.  They don't take time to read the name "Sheridan" on the statue and even if they did, probably don't think about the name's relationship to the nearby road.

That Sheridan Road runs 20 miles north to the former site of Fort Sheridan in the tony North Shore suburbs.  The base closed in 1993.

General Philip Sheridan was a favorite of Chicago movers and shakers.  Not only that, but he was a hero of the Civil War (not so much to the South who likened him to the much-despised General William T. Sherman).  After the war, he led the Army in the Indian Wars to open the Great Plains to white settlers.

Perhaps he did not coin the phrase, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" but it does reflect the way he approached his task.

But, he also appreciated the West's natural beauty and made the establishment of Yellowstone National Park a personal crusade.  (Two Chicago U.S. Highways, 12 and 14, go from that city to Yellowstone.)

Sheridan Road, A Really Pretty Drive and Home of Rich Folk.  --RoadDog