Historic Omaha

METROPOLITAN
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
✧
Below: Building 8 at the Fort Omaha
campus contains the library and classrooms.
Built in 1879, it once served as General
Crook’s headquarters, and later, a hospital.
Bottom, right: Construction workers
renovate the interior of Building 8 to
prepare it for college uses.
Students strolling the grounds of the Fort
Omaha Campus of Metropolitan Community
College might be surprised to learn of some of
the people who walked these acres before them.
In 1872 the Grand Duke Alexis, brother of
the Czar of Russia visited Fort Omaha. The
list of dinner guests honoring his visit
included General Philip Sheridan, General
George Custer, Buffalo Bill Cody, the governor
of Nebraska and the mayor of Omaha.
General George Crook, hero of the Civil War
and the Indian Wars, lived here from 1878 to
1882 and again from 1886-1888. During the
years between his stays, he left to lead the
fight against the Apaches in Arizona. In 1879
Standing Bear of the Poncas was detained at
Fort Omaha following his attempt to leave the
Indian Territory in Oklahoma, so that he
could bury his son near the Niobrara River. A
lawsuit brought by Standing Bear against
General Crook declared that Indians were
entitled to basic human rights.
During World War I, the campus served as
training grounds for members of the Army
Balloon Corps. During World War II, it held
Italian prisoners of war and later served as a
Naval Reserve station from 1947-1973.
Metropolitan Community College was
established in 1974 when the Nebraska state
legislature consolidated several technical
community colleges. Two of those colleges
merged to form Metropolitan Community
College. The college received the deed to the
70-acre, Fort Omaha campus in 1975, and
after extensive remodeling inside and out,
opened for students.
From the beginning, Metropolitan
Community College’s mission has been to
provide a quality, affordable education to all the
citizens of Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy and
Washington Counties. It offers one of the lowest
tuition rates of any area college. For less than
$3,000, students can earn a two-year degree and
either begin working in their chosen field or
transfer their credits to a four-year university.
The college operates the Fort Omaha, Elkhorn
Valley and South Omaha campuses and centers in
Fremont, LaVista and Offutt Air Force Base.
Metropolitan Community College is accredited
by the Higher Learning Commission and is a
member of the North Central Association.
Students can choose from more than a hundred
degree and certificate programs including
automotive technology, business, computer
technology, photography, computer imaging and
graphics, health professions, industrial
technology, and many others. With an annual
enrollment of about twenty-five thousand credit
students, Metro is the third largest postsecondary
institution in Nebraska. Despite its
size, it offers small classes, typically between 20
to 30 students, allowing for more personal
attention. In addition, many faculty members
work in the community, providing students with
both academic and practical knowledge.
A campus that once echoed to the sounds
of soldiers at drill, now resonates with the
sounds of students walking to classes.
HISTORIC OMAHA
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