The Soldiers' Home is the last remaining building in Chicago with a direct connection to the Civil War. The Northwest Sanitary Commission-- a branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission-- opened the Soldiers' Home at Randolph and Wabash in 1863 to provide medical care to sick and wounded Union soldiers. The commission was able to raise enough money to build a new Soldiers’ home near Camp Douglas.Famed Chicago architect WilliamBoyingtondesigned the building and the Soldiers’ Home moved to the new location on 35thin 1864.

The U.S. Sanitary Commission was established by the federal government in 1861 to support Civil War military families, gather supplies needed for the war effort, and care for sick and wounded soldiers. Local women's aid societies exploded in number at the beginning of the Civil War and many worked with their local sanitary commission branches to achieve common goals. In Chicago, Mary Livermore and JaneHogeled the Northwestern Sanitary Commission's efforts to organize two sanitary fairs-- one in 1863 and one in 1865. Their massively-successful efforts raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Union cause and provided the funds for the construction of the new Soldiers' Home on 35th.

Soldiers cared for at Chicago's Soldiers' Home came from all over the Midwest. Chicago was (and remains) a major transportation hub, and many soldiers traveled to and from the front on railways that passed through Chicago. The home cared for soldiers too wounded or ill to continue on their journey, as well as soldiers native to the Chicago area.

The Soldiers’ Home continued to serve the needs of Union veterans after the war ended. Many of the women who organized the commission’s wartime fundraising efforts moved on to advocate for other causes, including what would become a long fight for suffrage in Illinois.The building is still in use and is currently occupied byCatholic Charities.