Fort Reno – Ian Teal
Fort Reno is very important because of all the history that it has. The Fort Reno neighborhood was a predominantly Black, working-class community that existed on the outskirts of Washington from, roughly, the late 1880s through the 1940s. Over the decades,members of the Fort Reno community supported families, followed profes- sions, worshiped, sought recreation, improved their neighborhood’s infrastructure, and fought for civil rights. What does this show is that during the 1880 there were working classes that was living in fort Reno and a lot of people that lived in the fort Reno community support one another and try and help and thrive one another and help them be successful in there community which shows how they have respect of they had good things for the Fort Reno community.
Another known fact that I learned about Fort Reno is that Fort Reno was built in 1861 as part of a ring of Civil War defenses constructed on the highest ground of the city. It was originally named Fort Pennsylvania, but was renamed in 1863 to honor General Jesse Lee Reno, who was killed in battle.
What were some very important facts about Fort Reno is that Fort Reno was initially established to quell the unrest among the Native Americans in the region during 1874. Thirty-two Cheyenne and Arapaho men and one woman were arrested for their alleged role in the 1874 uprisings and were taken as prisoners to Fort Marion, Florida. Several years later, some of the former prisoners returned to the area and served as Native American Scouts at Fort Reno as well as Camp Supply (later Fort Supply) to the northwest. What this shows is that Fort Reno had a supply camp to help troops.
What surrounds Fort Reno is Woodrow Wilson’s new name (Jackson Reed) also there’s Alice Deal middle school. There is also a baseball field and a lot of restaurants and a lot of other buildings. What else that I found Fascinating is that Fort Reno has been around for a very long time and there’s a lot of green space there . What else I learned is that In the late 1920s, a number of DC and federal government agencies decided to build a new junior high school (Alice Deal) and a high school (Woodrow Wilson), construct a water tower, develop a public park, and design a scenic Fort Drive to connect the city’s Civil War forts. All but the Fort Drive were carried out, and in order to do so, the DC Board of Commissioners condemned much of the modest Fort Reno housing.
Commissioner Cuno H. Rudolph called the community “a blight upon this part of D.C.” despite the fact that not all of the housing was dilapidated. Residents protested, but the government purchased the properties and over a ten-year period forced out black and white families who had lived on what had been the grounds of the Fort for two or three generations.what else did I learn is that This project investigates the Civil War-era history of the Fort Reno installation that was a key component of the defenses of Washington. Its focus, though, is the community that was built on the remains of the old fort in the last decades of the nineteenth century. This report details the formation of the Fort Reno community, the contours of daily life in Reno, the religious, recreational, educational, associational, and political activities of Reno’s residents, the campaign to destroy Reno, and Reno residents’ fight to save their community. In conclusion I feel that Fort Reno has a lot of important information and important facts that no one will ever forget.
