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HISTORIC FORTS AND OUTPOSTS
During the years of western expansion, Army posts were established on the basis of anticipated use. As the Indian tribes of the East moved to new reservations in the west, the Army was called out to keep the tribes from waging war with each other. As settlers cleared new lands, the Army moved their posts to protect the fledgling settlements from hostile Indians and to protect the Indians’ lands from being encroached upon by settlers and merchants. After gold and silver were discovered, the mass migration of miners and settlers began crowding the large Indian territories. As the Indians had no place to move, war between the whites and Indians intensified. The Army was ordered to subdue the Indians and keep them on their reservations.
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN(North Dakota)
In 1872, this post was harassed by Indians even before it was finished. Originally named Fort McKeen, it was redesignated Fort Abraham Lincoln in 1872. Colonel George A. Custer commanded the post from 1873 to 1876 when he, also commanding the 7th Cavalry, marched off to the ill-fated battle of Little Bighorn. The post was rendered obsolete in 1891 when the railroad pushed through. Near the installation are a museum and a reconstructed camp of the Mandan Indians (Slant Village), containing large circular earth lodges and ceremonial Structures. From Mandon, go south on State 6 five Miles to the fort.
FORT APACHE(Arizona)
Established as Camp Ord in 1870, this post changed its name to Camp Mogollon, then Camp Thomas, during that first year. Finally the post was designated Fort Apache in February 1871 as a token of friendship with the nearby tribe. Friendship between the neighboring tribe and the soldiers was strained during the first 20 years of its existence. Troops from Fort Apache pursued and fought renegade bands of Indians led by such famous warriors as Geronimo, Matchez, Chato, and Chihuahua until the surrender of Geronimo in 1886. The fort continued in operation until l924 when it was turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be used as a school. The headquarters building is now the Post Office for the town of Fort Apache. From Globe, take US 60 northeast 66 miles; turn east on State 73 and drive about 27 miles to Fort Apache.
FORT BENTON(Montana)
In 1846, the American Fur Company founded a trading post, Fort Leans, on the Missouri River. Although the name as changed to Fort Benton in 1850, its function remained the same. In the 1860’s it became the northern base for river steamboats. The US Army purchased the post in 1869 to be used primarily as a forwarding point for supplies and mail to other forts. When the railroads came through, Fort Benton lost its importance. Many adobe buildings remain. Take US 87 from Great Falls, drive 41 Mlles to Fort Benton; the post is just east of the city.
BENT'S OLD FORT(Colorado)
Old west fur trading post by La Junta Colorado.
BLOCKHOUSES ON WHIDBEY ISLAND(Washington)
Indian uprisings during the winter of 1855 and 1856 caused settlers to band together to build blockhouses for the protection of their families. Several such blockhouses are located on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. The Davis and Ebey families built four blockhouses after the murder of Colonel Isaac N. Ebey by the Haida Indians. Two of the blockhouses still remain. From Prairie Center at the Southern edge of Coupeville, take the road west one block where it dead-ends at Ebey Road. Go left one block to Cook Road; turn right one block to dead-end at Sherman Road, which leads to Sunnyside Cemetery, the location of the Davis Blockhouse. The Ebey Blockhouse is about one mile further on this same road. Permission to visit the Ebey Blockhouse should be requested.
FORT BOISE(Idaho)
In 1834 the Hudson Bay Company near the mouth of the Boise River erected Fort Boise. In 1854 the Snake River Indians massacred Twenty-one emigrants led by Alexander Ward in Boise Valley. This event leads to the closing of Fort Boise the next summer and Fort Hall in l856. Work began again on a new post in 1863 by a troop of Oregon Cavalry. Boise Barracks were established at Moores Creek by Major P. Lugenbeel and the US Cavalry. As wagon trains of miners and emigrants increased the next year, so did uprisings of the Snake River Shoshones. Thus, constant patrols crossed the Idaho tablelands to help keep the Indians peaceful, and to help support law officers in the mining camps. The site (renamed Boise Barracks in 1863) housed a small Cavalry force until 19l3. Since World Wear I, it has been used by the Veterans Administration; many fine buildings built in l890 remain. The oldest structure is the former officers quarters, built in 1863. The site is north of downtown Boise at 5th and Fort Streets.
FORT BOWIE(Arizona)
It was the focal point of operation against Geronimo and the Apaches, at Apache Pass by Bowie Arizona.
FORT BRIDGER(Wyoming)
Built in 1842 as a trading post by James Bridger and Louis Vasquez, this site was purchased by the Mormons in 1853 It was the center of Mormon activity in their travels along the emigrant trail until they abandoned and burned the post in 1857. At the outbreak of the conflict between the Mormons and the US government in 1858, Colonel Albert S. Johnson established Fort Bridger as a military post. The post was abandoned in 1878, but was reoccupied by the military in 1880 because of the Ute uprising. The post was permanently abandoned in 1890. Fort Bridger is now being restored, with one of the barracks a museum. The post is approximately six miles south of the town of Fort Bridger on State 412.
FORT BUFORD(North Dakota)
Strategically established in 1866 to quell Indian disturbances and supervise peaceful reservation settlement, Fort Buford was for years under constant attack. Following Colonel George A Custer's defeat, Army campaigns from Fort Buford against the Sioux and Cheyenne were particularly aggressive. The famous Sioux warrior, Sitting Bull, and his people were finally persuaded to surrender at Fort Buford in 1881. These tumultuous events are now captured through Memorabilia in the museum, once the Fort Buford officers' quarters. From Williston, take US 2 west seven miles, turn south to Trenton, and continue 10 miles southwest to Fort Buford.
FORT CLATSOP(Oregon)
The first US fort in the Far West, Fort Clatsop was established by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805. It had taken them 18 months to travel over 4,000 likes to the Pacific, where they waited out the cold winter of 1805 and 1806 before returning east. The local chinook, Clatsop, Cathlamet, and Tillamook Indians were both observers and participants in the fort’s construction. Replica of the original post was built in 1955; the National Park Service maintains the site, with a museum, marked trails, and interpretive facilities. It is approximately three miles south of Astoria on US 101, across the Young's Bay Bridge.
FORT COLLINS(Colorado)
The 1st Colorado Cavalry established a small post outside Laporte in the fall of 1863. In May l864, two companies of the 11th Ohio Cavalry who named the post Camp Collins after their regimental commander, Colonel William O. Collins, replaced the coloradans. In June 1864, the camp was destroyed by flooding and relocated on higher ground. That fall the post was redesignated Fort Collins. Soon a settlement grew around the small fort where troops were assigned to guard the Overland Trail. In 1867, the post was abandoned and the lands transferred to the Interior Department. The site was thrown open to Settlement in 1872. The only remaining fort building is "Aunty Stone Cabin", which was built in 1864 as a mess room for the Fort Collins officers. A museum and the restored cabin are located in Lincoln Park, 219 Peterson Street, Fort Collins. The original site of the post is now covered by Union Pacific railroad yards, but a stone marker is located next to Power House on College Avenue, north of downtown Fort Collins.
FORT DUCHESNE(Utah)
In 1885 and 1886 intertribal violence erupted among the Ute Indians, requiring four companies of Infantry and two troops of Negro Cavalry to be rushed to the area. About 700 Indians confronted the troops near the present fort site, but diplomacy averted a clash. The Army relinquished the installation in 1912. The parade ground still has Army trees, and, although some buildings have been razed, many are in use. From Vernal, take US 40 southwest about 22 miles; turn south on State 88 for one-half mile. The fort is on the west bank of the Uintah River.
FORT FLOYD(Utah)
General Albert Johnson departed for Utah from Fort Leavenworth in 1857 with 3,000 men, 6,000 Cavalry horses, 3,000 mules, and 500 wagons, arriving in Cedar Springs to establish the first Utah Army post the next year. The overland stage route from Salt Lake City to San Francisco was constructed that same year. The fort there was abandoned in 1861 when forces were moved east for the Civil War. All buildings were burned to the ground after the Army left. Camp Floyd was never called a Fort. When it was established in 1858 by Johnson's Army, it was named Camp Floyd and kept that name until 1861 when the commander, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke changed the name to Fort Crittenden because John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, went South and was charged with treason, although indicted for other crimes. The name Camp Floyd was reinstated for the sake of history and is now the name of the State Park, which includes the cemetery and the old stage station. On view today are an excellent replica of a stagecoach inn and a commissary building, as well as several monument markers at the site? The camp is in downtown Fairfield off State 73.
FORT GENOA(Nevada)
Hampden S. Beattie, arriving in western Nevada in 1849, built a log house and began trading with pioneers en route to the California gold fields. When John Reese, a Mormon from Salt Lake City, put up a stockade and huts, it became known as Mormon Station. Apostle Orson Hyde, sent by Brigham Young to establish authority in the area, promptly changed the name to Fort Genoa even though there were no soldiers within many miles. The post flourished for years, but in 1872 two fires leveled several buildings. Ten years later the community was almost destroyed when tons of snow thundered down the valley. The fort has now been restored. From Carson City, take US 395 south 11 miles to Nevada 57 turn west four miles to Genoa.
FORT GRANT(Arizona)
Old Camp Grant (l860-l872) was situated in an unhealthy location in the Aravaipa Canyon until a new site for the post was selected in 1872 on the southwestern slop of Graham Mountain. The soldiers of Fort Grant played a prominent role in the Apache War of the 1880's. The garrison was withdrawn in 1898, and the fort remained abandoned except for a caretaker. Since 1912, the fort has been occupied by the Arizona State Industrial School, which has modernized many of the original buildings. From Safford, go south on US 666 about 17 miles turn west on State 266 and drive 22 miles to the Arizona State Industrial School.
FORT HALL(Idaho)
Originally established by an American Settler, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth, in 1834, this site becomes an emigrant landmark. Wyeth sold the post to the Hudson's Bay Company two years later. It was a key point in the overland route where the Oregon Trail splits to California and Oregon. In 1849 Fort Hall becomes a hub for trails and roads to the western parts of the United States. Over 20,000 emigrants who join the gold rush come through southeastern Idaho on the California Trail. Heavy traffic continues on the trail for many years. In 1870, the US Army put up fortifications about 25 miles northeast of the old trading post to protect stage and freight routes. In 1883, the barracks were eventually moved to Ross Fork Creek, about 25 miles northwest. The site is on US 91, approximately 12 sites north of Pocatello.
FORT HARTSUFF(Nebraska)
The actual construction of this post played an important role in the survival of area settlers when crops were destroyed by the plague of grasshoppers in 1874. Men were glad to work for the government as carpenters, masons, and haulers. By the time the post was completed, its military need disappeared, and it was sold in 1881. In 1960, the fort became state property. Many buildings are still in good condition, although overgrown with trees and brush. From Ord, take State 11 north seven miles to Elyria. A winding dirt road leads from Elyria north to the fort, about three miles.
FORT HENRY(Idaho)
In 1810 Missouri Fur Company established Fort Henry, one of the first rendezvous and forts on the Snake River, near present day St. Anthony, first American trading post.
HUBBELL TRADING POST(Arizona)
Indian trading post by Ganado Arizona.
FORT HUMBOLDT(California)
Fort Humboldt was founded in l853 by Captain R. C. Buchanan and Campanies B and F, 4th US Infantry. Ulysses S. Grant as stationed here from 1853 to 1854. The installation was a central base in the Indian Wars of this region until 1865. The post was abandoned in 1867. Soldiers constructed a 14-building outpost in 1853 to protect the settlers who were making the Humboldt Bay region their home. Today, the partially reconstructed fort hosts displays on logging, early Native American life, and the tragic violence that occurred between gold miners and Native Americans from the early 1850s to 1866. The park is on Fort Ave, off Highland Ave., which intersects with US 101 on the South side of Eureka. Today it is Fort Humboldt State Park.
FORT KEARNY(Nebraska)
In 1846, Colonel Stephen Kearny originally established Fort Kearny in the area now occupied by Nebraska City. In 1848, it as moved to what is now Fort Kearny State Historical Park in order to provide better protection to travelers on the Oregon Trail. The installation was discontinued in 187l, and the building demolished. In 1959, the site was reclaimed as a state park; it features blacksmith-carpenter shop, stockade, parade ground, and interpretive center. Fort Kearny, drive south on State 44 for four miles, turn left and go about four miles to the park.
FORT LAPWAI(Idaho)
Henry Harmon Spaulding establishes a Nez Perce Indian mission at Lapwai. First school in Idaho opens for Indian children at Lapwai. First White Child born in Idaho is Eliza Spaulding born at Lapwai. In 1839 Henry Spaulding starts publishing the Bible in Lapwai on the earliest printing press in the Pacific Northwest. Chief Timothy, the first native Christian leader, baptized November 17 1839. Troops were rushed to the Nez Perce Reservation in 1862, when miners were flocking into area and encroaching onto the reservation. The post was originally manned by Volunteers but replaced by Regulars in 1866. In 1884, the fort began to lose its value as a military installation; one building, now part of the Nez Perce Historical Park, remains. From Lewiston, take US 9S east of Lapwai; one mile south of town is the Indian Agency.
FORT LARAMIE(Wyoming)
Originally built in 1834 and named Fort William’s (later Fort John), this site was the first permanent trading post set up in what is now the State of Wyoming. Most of the great Indian treaties were signed there. By the Treaty of 1868, white men were forbidden to enter the Powder River country, but prospectors made their way into the adjacent Black Hills which caused the Indians to protest by continued raids on settlements. The climax of Indian fighting came in 1876 when Generals Crook, Custer, and MacKenzie, and great Chiefs Sitting Bull, Dull Knife, Red Cloud and others wrote American history with bullets and arrows. The post was abandoned in 1890. The site is under extensive restoration. Take Interstate 25 US 87 north from Cheyenne to US 26; turn east to the town of Fort Laramie follow the marked gravel road two files to the site.
FORT LEAVENWORTH(Kansas)
Midway in the chain of American frontier forts, this site became the host important portal of the west. The tent camp of 1827 was just a beginning for a post that has continued as an active Army post for almost a century and a half. Fort Leavenworth was the base on many exploring parties, boasting huge corrals and supply yards for outfitting wagon trains. In 1839, Colonel Stephen Kearny led an expedition, composed of the largest mounted force of Regulars ever assembled up to that time to the Cherokee Nation. During the Civil War, Confederates twice threatened the post. Today, it is the location of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College, offering outstanding courses of Military instruction. A large Museum and historic tours recapture the old days. Fort Leavenworth is north of the town of Leavenworth on State 82.
FORT LEMHI(Idaho)
In 1823 a battle was fought in Lemhi Valley between men of the Snake River country expedition and the Piegan Indians. In 1858 Mormon missionaries established Fort Lemhi, reclaim first land by irrigation in Idaho. In 1858 Bannock Indians attacked the Mormons at Fort Lemhi, killing two and driving the remaining back to Utah. Present day Tendoy Idaho and the birthplace of Sacahawea, on State 28 locate it.
FORT LOGAN(Montana)
This site was named Camp Baker when it as first settled in 1869 on the Smith River. During the next summer, it was relocated 10 miles farther up the river. The post was primarily to protect nearby towns, although several commanders believed there was no real need for a military post there. In 1878, the post was renamed for Captain William Logan, who was killed in the Battle of the Big Hole. It was abandoned just two years later. From White Sulphur Springs, take US 12-west one mile past the post office; turn right onto a gravel road and drive 19 miles to reach the ranch of George Berg, which occupies the old fort buildings. Permission to visit should be requested.
FORT MANDAN(North Dakota)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at this location in October of 1804 and built formidable shelters against the coming winter. They named the carp Fort Mandan, and their relation with the local Mandan Indians and French fur trappers were friendly. In April 1805, the famous party left the post and continued through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. Just North of Washburn, drive west three files on US 83 to the site.
FORT MCKINNEY(Wyoming)
General George Crook founded this post in 1876 as a supply depot, naming it Cantonment Reno. In 1877, it was redesignated Fort McKinney. Five years General Philip Sheridan made it a permanent post in anticipation of continuing wars with the Indians and several Cavalry troops were moved in. Sheridan's Indian battle never materialized, but considerable friction among cattlemen, rustlers, and farmers in 1892 and 1893 had to be settled by the Army. The post was transferred to the State of Wyoming and the Wyoming Soldiers and Sailors Home was moved there in l903. From Buffalo, you will take US 16 west for three miles to the fort.
FORT MEADE(South Dakota)
Fort Meade, established in l878, was once an active Cavalry post charged with maintaining the peace with the Cheyenne Indians in the area. Much of the Wounded Knee Campaign was directed from Fort Meade and post troops were in the battle. This post lasted longer than any other Dakota installation built during the Indian Wars, continuing Cavalry operations until after 1935. Some early structures were replaced after the turn of the century, but the officers' quarters are basically unchanged since l888. In 1944, the post was ceded to the Veterans administration and is now a Veterans hospital. Fort Meade is two miles east of Sturgis on State 34.
FORT RILEY(Kansas)
Established in 1853, this post was first known as Camp Center because of its proximity to the geographical center of the US. It was renamed for General Bennett Riley, a hero of the Mexican War, six month later. The post's soldiers main concern was confining Indian hostilities, a mission they pursued until the end of the frontier. In 1866, Lieutenant Colonel General A Custer organized the 7th Cavalry at Fort Riley. As the US Army's Cavalry Center, troops from this post participated in nearly all-western campaigns. The 100,000-acre installation is now home of the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One), Irwin Army Hospital, and Third ROTC Region. Located at Fort Riley are the US Cavalry Museum, Custer's Home, and the First Territorial Capitol. From Junction City, take State 18 to the fort. Dwight D Eisenhower Center (library, hone, and place of Meditation), located in Abilene, Kansas. This was Eisenhower's boyhood home. Abilene is about 40 miles west of Ft. Riley on I-70 in Dickinson County.
FORT SCOTT(Kansas)
Daniel Boone's son, Captain Nathan Boone, was in the 1837 party, which selected this site on which a post was established in 1842. During the Mexican War, with the constant necessity of protecting the Santa Fe Trail, Dragoons were stationed there until well into the 1850's. In pre-Civil War Kansas, this post was a hotbed of secessionists and (Nonslavery) "Free Staters." When the war started, General William S. Harney established his Department of the West headquarters there. Fort Scott has also been command post for the Army of the Frontier, the District of Kansas, and forces of Southeastern Kansas. Headquarters House today contains a historical museum and many other fort buildings also remain. From downtown Fort Scott, on US 69, go north to Wall Street; the post is off Wall Street on Carroll Plaza. The fort commemorates events of civil war period.
FORT SHERMAN(Idaho)
In 1840 Father Pierre Jean de Smet begins his missionary work in Idaho. In 1842 Father Point establishes the Jesuit Coeur d' Alene Mission of the Sacred Heart near Saint Maries. The Mission moves to a site near Cataldo in 1846, and is transferred in 1877 to Desmet where it stands today. Camp Coeur d' Alene was established on a site chosen by General William T. Sherman for its beauty. In 1887, it was renamed Fort Sherman. Its three missions were to keep the peace in northern Idaho, watch the Canadian border, and protect the railroad and telegraph crews. The Canadians proved no problem, and the post was abandoned in 1900. The chapel, facing the old parade grounds still serves as church. The officer' quarters are now apartment houses. From Spokane, Washington, take US 10 east 10 miles to Coeur d' Alene, turn right to the City Park; four blocks west is the site of the fort.
FORT SISSETON(South Dakota)
Since 1864, an elevated tableland known as Coteau de' Prairies has been the site of Fort Sisseton. The post was called "peacekeeper of the Dakota Kettle Lake region". First named Fort Wadsworth it was renamed in 1876 for the Indian tribe living there. Later, its main activities becomes more social than military, and, in 1888, the Army withdrew. The brick and stone buildings are still in fine condition today. Fort Sisseton is on State 10, 25 miles west of the town of Sisseton.
FORT SPOKANE(Washington)
This post was little combat. First called Camp Spokane in 1880, it was designated a fort two years later when six companies of Infantry and Cavalry were garrisoned here. Their duties were to keep the peace between Whites and Indians and guard the Canadian border, but they performed little more than occasional police activity. The fort was used as an Indian school from 1899 until 1929. Five original structures remain. From Wilbur take US 2 east approximately 30 miles; turn north on State 25 and drive 24 miles to the fort.
FORT STANTON(New Mexico)
From its beginning in 1855 until it became a hospital in 1896; this post was much American history in the making. Abandoned from the Civil War, the fort was burned down by Confederate soldiers. Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson brought his volunteers there in l862 and put them to work rebuilding the fort. Billy the Kid stayed overnight in the fort guardhouse one of the few jails that held him. During the 1890's the post kept watch on Mescalero and Jicarillo Apaches. The old barracks now serve as headquarters for Fort Stanton Tuberculosis Hospital, and the original officers' homes are still in use. From Roswell go west on US 380 for 66 miles, turn south on State 214; drive five miles to Fort Stanton.
FORT SUMNER(New Mexico)
Established in 1862, Fort Sumner was the result of a noble idea. It was to be a "Chaplain posts" where Indian children could be educated. It was a miserable experiment, both for the Army and for the Indians. When floods, disease, pests, and crop failures caused near starvation, the Indians returned to their native haunts. Abandoned buildings and surrounding lands were auctioned to a private developer who turned the officers' quarters into a mansion. Billy the Kid was killed there on July 17, 1881. A Billy the Kid Museum, located sever miles southeast of the town of Fort Sumner, has a collection of fort and area relics. The town is at the junction of US 60 and US 84 in the eastern part of the state.
SUTTER'S FORT(California)
John A Sutter arrived in California in 1839 and promptly built fortifications to protect his Mexican land grant. Following the United States' occupation of California, the Stars and Stripes first flew over the outpost on July 11, 1846, when troops were garrisoned there. After gold was discovered at his mill, Sutter lost possession of the fort. By 1860, its outer walls and rooms lay in ruin; The State of California acquired the site in 1890 and began restoration. Of the original buildings, the two-story central structure, made of adobe and oak, remains preserved. John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, received a 28,000-acre Mexican land grant in the Sacramento Valley in 1841. Sutter's Fort became the destination for early immigrants coming to California, including the Donner Party, which lost many lives in a mountain blizzard. The fort, at 27th and L streets in Sacramento, has been restored to its 1846 appearance and is open daily, except for some major holidays. Of special interest is the new Summer Interpretive Program, which runs daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. It has an excellent museum. The fort is on L Street, between 27th and 28th, Sacramento, California
FORT TOTTEM(North Dakota)
Established in 1867 to protect westward stagecoach and mail routes, Fort Totten became a haven for displaced neighboring Indians. Despite the hardships of subzero temperatures, food shortages, and many diseases, the installation grew within a few years into a military community properly squared sound its parade ground, which is still well preserved today. In 1890, the post became an Indian reservation boarding school. From Devils Lake, take State 57 southwest approximately 15 miles to the fort.
FORT UNION(New Mexico)
Started in 1851, Fort Union went up piecemeal with troop labor during a government economy drive. As it becomes a major supply depot for the Southwest, its men were continually busy on the front as well as with construction tasks. They performed escort duty on the Santa Fe Trail and were in the field regularly scouting, patrolling and skirmishing with local Indians until 1874. The soldiers of Fort Union also played a significant role in repelling the Confederate invasion of New Mexico in 1862. The sprawling post combined three sub-installations, the Post, The Quartermaster Depot, and the Ordnance Depot. The Army remained there until 1889. The National Park Service now administers Fort Union. Take US 85 north from Las Vegas, New Mexico; turn onto State 477 to the fort.
FORT UNION(North Dakota)
This trading post of the American Fur company functioned between l828 and 1867 as a center for a cluster of carps throughout the region, and to dominated the economy of the northern Plains until the Arty dismantled it more than a century ago, and is being rebuilt as a tribute to the fur traders who helped shape the region. Fort Union is the place where the story of the Upper Missouri fur trade is told. It is on a 430-acre Fort Union National Historic Site. John Jacob Astor's powerful American Fur Company built Fort Union in 1828 near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Jean Pierre DeSmet, an early missionary, once described it as the "vastness and finest of the forts the American Fur Company has on the Missouri." To serve Indian trappers, it furnished ammunition; vegetables dried meat, flour, and blacksmith service, all of which were exchanged for valuable buffalo robes. Assiniboin, Cree, Crow, Blackfeet and Sioux Indians peacefully coexisted with Fort Union's traders for a generation before the great Indian Wars broke out in the West. Steamboats were welcomed by thunderous cannon salutes as they brought in fresh supplies and departed laden with furs. The site is about one mile west of Fort Buford on the Montana border.
FORT VANCOUVER(Washington)
The Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post on the north bank of the Columbia River (Opposite present-day Portland, Oregon} in 1824. The trading post became a military post in 1849 with the arrival of two companies of the 1st US Artillery. Their first camp was near the post and called Columbia Barracks. The following year, some quarters were constructed at the fort and other buildings required by the military were leased from the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1853, the post as designated Fort Vancouver. The Hudson’s Hay Company maintained its position until 1860 when it was moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The name of the post was changed to Vancouver Barracks in 1879. The US Army Reserve currently occupies the post, which includes a fine museum. From downtown Vancouver, take East 5th Street into the fort at the overpass with US 99.
FORT VERDE(Arizona)
This small stone fort was built in 1865 by a group of pioneers to protect their crops from Indian raids. A detail of Arizona Volunteers manned the site (then called Camp Lincoln), and it officially became a military post a year later. Because of a lack of supplies and pay, most men soon deserted. A Company of US Army Regulars arrived a few months later. The post was moved in 1871 to higher ground a mile south, and a Yavapi Reservation was created to the North. The fort headquarters is now a museum. The town of Camp Verde is 49 miles south of Flagstaff on Interstate 17 then two miles east on State 79.
FORT YUMA(California)
With the end of the Mexican War in 1848, the Territories of California and Arizona became part of the US. Within a year a ferry was established on the Colorado River for the emigrants taking the southern route to California. Fort Yuma was founded on the California side to protect the ferry crossing and offer assistance to the emigrant trains passing through. It was abandoned in 1883 and transferred to the Interior Department a year later. The fort now contains the Quechan Indian Museum housed in the old officers' mess. The fort is seven block east of US 80 on the California side of the Colorado River.
Links to Old Western Forts and Trading Posts:
This link leads you to many other links
Fort Amanda
Fort Anahuac
Fort Ancient
Fort Apache
Fort Atkinson
Fort Belknap
Fort Bend
Fort Bird
Fort Bliss
Fort Boggy
Fort Bowie
Fort Buffalo Springs
Fort Casper on the Oregon Trail
Fort Chadbourne
Fort Chadbourne
Fort Cibolo
Fort Cienega
Fort Clark
Fort Clatsop
Fort Colorado or Fort Coleman
Fort Concho
Fort Croghan
Fort Davis
Fort Defiance
Fort Hall
Fort Henry
West Virginia
Fort Henry
Kingston, Ontario
Fort William Henry.
Fort Hill
Fort Jefferson
Fort Laramie
Fort Laramie on the Oregon Trail
Fort Larned
Fort Laurens
Fort Ligonier
Fort Marcy
Fort Meigs
Fort Mitchell
Alabama
Fort Ontario
Historic Fort Osage
Fort Osage
Fort Peck Indian Reservation
Fort Recovery
Fort Scott
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Här finns Geronimos grav
Fort Smith
Fort Snelling
Fort Toulouse/ Jackson State Park
Fort Union
Fort Union Trading Post
Fort Wellington
Walk in beauty
HISTORIC FORTS AND OUTPOSTS
During the years of western expansion, Army posts were established on the basis of anticipated use. As the Indian tribes of the East moved to new reservations in the west, the Army was called out to keep the tribes from waging war with each other. As settlers cleared new lands, the Army moved their posts to protect the fledgling settlements from hostile Indians and to protect the Indians’ lands from being encroached upon by settlers and merchants. After gold and silver were discovered, the mass migration of miners and settlers began crowding the large Indian territories. As the Indians had no place to move, war between the whites and Indians intensified. The Army was ordered to subdue the Indians and keep them on their reservations.
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN(North Dakota)
In 1872, this post was harassed by Indians even before it was finished. Originally named Fort McKeen, it was redesignated Fort Abraham Lincoln in 1872. Colonel George A. Custer commanded the post from 1873 to 1876 when he, also commanding the 7th Cavalry, marched off to the ill-fated battle of Little Bighorn. The post was rendered obsolete in 1891 when the railroad pushed through. Near the installation are a museum and a reconstructed camp of the Mandan Indians (Slant Village), containing large circular earth lodges and ceremonial Structures. From Mandon, go south on State 6 five Miles to the fort.
FORT APACHE(Arizona)
Established as Camp Ord in 1870, this post changed its name to Camp Mogollon, then Camp Thomas, during that first year. Finally the post was designated Fort Apache in February 1871 as a token of friendship with the nearby tribe. Friendship between the neighboring tribe and the soldiers was strained during the first 20 years of its existence. Troops from Fort Apache pursued and fought renegade bands of Indians led by such famous warriors as Geronimo, Matchez, Chato, and Chihuahua until the surrender of Geronimo in 1886. The fort continued in operation until l924 when it was turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be used as a school. The headquarters building is now the Post Office for the town of Fort Apache. From Globe, take US 60 northeast 66 miles; turn east on State 73 and drive about 27 miles to Fort Apache.
FORT BENTON(Montana)
In 1846, the American Fur Company founded a trading post, Fort Leans, on the Missouri River. Although the name as changed to Fort Benton in 1850, its function remained the same. In the 1860’s it became the northern base for river steamboats. The US Army purchased the post in 1869 to be used primarily as a forwarding point for supplies and mail to other forts. When the railroads came through, Fort Benton lost its importance. Many adobe buildings remain. Take US 87 from Great Falls, drive 41 Mlles to Fort Benton; the post is just east of the city.
Old west fur trading post by La Junta Colorado.
BLOCKHOUSES ON WHIDBEY ISLAND(Washington)
Indian uprisings during the winter of 1855 and 1856 caused settlers to band together to build blockhouses for the protection of their families. Several such blockhouses are located on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. The Davis and Ebey families built four blockhouses after the murder of Colonel Isaac N. Ebey by the Haida Indians. Two of the blockhouses still remain. From Prairie Center at the Southern edge of Coupeville, take the road west one block where it dead-ends at Ebey Road. Go left one block to Cook Road; turn right one block to dead-end at Sherman Road, which leads to Sunnyside Cemetery, the location of the Davis Blockhouse. The Ebey Blockhouse is about one mile further on this same road. Permission to visit the Ebey Blockhouse should be requested.
FORT BOISE(Idaho)
In 1834 the Hudson Bay Company near the mouth of the Boise River erected Fort Boise. In 1854 the Snake River Indians massacred Twenty-one emigrants led by Alexander Ward in Boise Valley. This event leads to the closing of Fort Boise the next summer and Fort Hall in l856. Work began again on a new post in 1863 by a troop of Oregon Cavalry. Boise Barracks were established at Moores Creek by Major P. Lugenbeel and the US Cavalry. As wagon trains of miners and emigrants increased the next year, so did uprisings of the Snake River Shoshones. Thus, constant patrols crossed the Idaho tablelands to help keep the Indians peaceful, and to help support law officers in the mining camps. The site (renamed Boise Barracks in 1863) housed a small Cavalry force until 19l3. Since World Wear I, it has been used by the Veterans Administration; many fine buildings built in l890 remain. The oldest structure is the former officers quarters, built in 1863. The site is north of downtown Boise at 5th and Fort Streets.
FORT BOWIE(Arizona)
It was the focal point of operation against Geronimo and the Apaches, at Apache Pass by Bowie Arizona.
FORT BRIDGER(Wyoming)
Built in 1842 as a trading post by James Bridger and Louis Vasquez, this site was purchased by the Mormons in 1853 It was the center of Mormon activity in their travels along the emigrant trail until they abandoned and burned the post in 1857. At the outbreak of the conflict between the Mormons and the US government in 1858, Colonel Albert S. Johnson established Fort Bridger as a military post. The post was abandoned in 1878, but was reoccupied by the military in 1880 because of the Ute uprising. The post was permanently abandoned in 1890. Fort Bridger is now being restored, with one of the barracks a museum. The post is approximately six miles south of the town of Fort Bridger on State 412.
FORT BUFORD(North Dakota)
Strategically established in 1866 to quell Indian disturbances and supervise peaceful reservation settlement, Fort Buford was for years under constant attack. Following Colonel George A Custer's defeat, Army campaigns from Fort Buford against the Sioux and Cheyenne were particularly aggressive. The famous Sioux warrior, Sitting Bull, and his people were finally persuaded to surrender at Fort Buford in 1881. These tumultuous events are now captured through Memorabilia in the museum, once the Fort Buford officers' quarters. From Williston, take US 2 west seven miles, turn south to Trenton, and continue 10 miles southwest to Fort Buford.
FORT CLATSOP(Oregon)
The first US fort in the Far West, Fort Clatsop was established by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805. It had taken them 18 months to travel over 4,000 likes to the Pacific, where they waited out the cold winter of 1805 and 1806 before returning east. The local chinook, Clatsop, Cathlamet, and Tillamook Indians were both observers and participants in the fort’s construction. Replica of the original post was built in 1955; the National Park Service maintains the site, with a museum, marked trails, and interpretive facilities. It is approximately three miles south of Astoria on US 101, across the Young's Bay Bridge.
FORT COLLINS(Colorado)
The 1st Colorado Cavalry established a small post outside Laporte in the fall of 1863. In May l864, two companies of the 11th Ohio Cavalry who named the post Camp Collins after their regimental commander, Colonel William O. Collins, replaced the coloradans. In June 1864, the camp was destroyed by flooding and relocated on higher ground. That fall the post was redesignated Fort Collins. Soon a settlement grew around the small fort where troops were assigned to guard the Overland Trail. In 1867, the post was abandoned and the lands transferred to the Interior Department. The site was thrown open to Settlement in 1872. The only remaining fort building is "Aunty Stone Cabin", which was built in 1864 as a mess room for the Fort Collins officers. A museum and the restored cabin are located in Lincoln Park, 219 Peterson Street, Fort Collins. The original site of the post is now covered by Union Pacific railroad yards, but a stone marker is located next to Power House on College Avenue, north of downtown Fort Collins.
In 1885 and 1886 intertribal violence erupted among the Ute Indians, requiring four companies of Infantry and two troops of Negro Cavalry to be rushed to the area. About 700 Indians confronted the troops near the present fort site, but diplomacy averted a clash. The Army relinquished the installation in 1912. The parade ground still has Army trees, and, although some buildings have been razed, many are in use. From Vernal, take US 40 southwest about 22 miles; turn south on State 88 for one-half mile. The fort is on the west bank of the Uintah River.
FORT FLOYD(Utah)
General Albert Johnson departed for Utah from Fort Leavenworth in 1857 with 3,000 men, 6,000 Cavalry horses, 3,000 mules, and 500 wagons, arriving in Cedar Springs to establish the first Utah Army post the next year. The overland stage route from Salt Lake City to San Francisco was constructed that same year. The fort there was abandoned in 1861 when forces were moved east for the Civil War. All buildings were burned to the ground after the Army left. Camp Floyd was never called a Fort. When it was established in 1858 by Johnson's Army, it was named Camp Floyd and kept that name until 1861 when the commander, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke changed the name to Fort Crittenden because John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, went South and was charged with treason, although indicted for other crimes. The name Camp Floyd was reinstated for the sake of history and is now the name of the State Park, which includes the cemetery and the old stage station. On view today are an excellent replica of a stagecoach inn and a commissary building, as well as several monument markers at the site? The camp is in downtown Fairfield off State 73.
FORT GENOA(Nevada)
Hampden S. Beattie, arriving in western Nevada in 1849, built a log house and began trading with pioneers en route to the California gold fields. When John Reese, a Mormon from Salt Lake City, put up a stockade and huts, it became known as Mormon Station. Apostle Orson Hyde, sent by Brigham Young to establish authority in the area, promptly changed the name to Fort Genoa even though there were no soldiers within many miles. The post flourished for years, but in 1872 two fires leveled several buildings. Ten years later the community was almost destroyed when tons of snow thundered down the valley. The fort has now been restored. From Carson City, take US 395 south 11 miles to Nevada 57 turn west four miles to Genoa.
FORT GRANT(Arizona)
Old Camp Grant (l860-l872) was situated in an unhealthy location in the Aravaipa Canyon until a new site for the post was selected in 1872 on the southwestern slop of Graham Mountain. The soldiers of Fort Grant played a prominent role in the Apache War of the 1880's. The garrison was withdrawn in 1898, and the fort remained abandoned except for a caretaker. Since 1912, the fort has been occupied by the Arizona State Industrial School, which has modernized many of the original buildings. From Safford, go south on US 666 about 17 miles turn west on State 266 and drive 22 miles to the Arizona State Industrial School.
FORT HALL(Idaho)
Originally established by an American Settler, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth, in 1834, this site becomes an emigrant landmark. Wyeth sold the post to the Hudson's Bay Company two years later. It was a key point in the overland route where the Oregon Trail splits to California and Oregon. In 1849 Fort Hall becomes a hub for trails and roads to the western parts of the United States. Over 20,000 emigrants who join the gold rush come through southeastern Idaho on the California Trail. Heavy traffic continues on the trail for many years. In 1870, the US Army put up fortifications about 25 miles northeast of the old trading post to protect stage and freight routes. In 1883, the barracks were eventually moved to Ross Fork Creek, about 25 miles northwest. The site is on US 91, approximately 12 sites north of Pocatello.
FORT HARTSUFF(Nebraska)
The actual construction of this post played an important role in the survival of area settlers when crops were destroyed by the plague of grasshoppers in 1874. Men were glad to work for the government as carpenters, masons, and haulers. By the time the post was completed, its military need disappeared, and it was sold in 1881. In 1960, the fort became state property. Many buildings are still in good condition, although overgrown with trees and brush. From Ord, take State 11 north seven miles to Elyria. A winding dirt road leads from Elyria north to the fort, about three miles.
FORT HENRY(Idaho)
In 1810 Missouri Fur Company established Fort Henry, one of the first rendezvous and forts on the Snake River, near present day St. Anthony, first American trading post.
HUBBELL TRADING POST(Arizona)
Indian trading post by Ganado Arizona.
FORT HUMBOLDT(California)
Fort Humboldt was founded in l853 by Captain R. C. Buchanan and Campanies B and F, 4th US Infantry. Ulysses S. Grant as stationed here from 1853 to 1854. The installation was a central base in the Indian Wars of this region until 1865. The post was abandoned in 1867. Soldiers constructed a 14-building outpost in 1853 to protect the settlers who were making the Humboldt Bay region their home. Today, the partially reconstructed fort hosts displays on logging, early Native American life, and the tragic violence that occurred between gold miners and Native Americans from the early 1850s to 1866. The park is on Fort Ave, off Highland Ave., which intersects with US 101 on the South side of Eureka. Today it is Fort Humboldt State Park.
FORT KEARNY(Nebraska)
In 1846, Colonel Stephen Kearny originally established Fort Kearny in the area now occupied by Nebraska City. In 1848, it as moved to what is now Fort Kearny State Historical Park in order to provide better protection to travelers on the Oregon Trail. The installation was discontinued in 187l, and the building demolished. In 1959, the site was reclaimed as a state park; it features blacksmith-carpenter shop, stockade, parade ground, and interpretive center. Fort Kearny, drive south on State 44 for four miles, turn left and go about four miles to the park.
FORT LAPWAI(Idaho)
Henry Harmon Spaulding establishes a Nez Perce Indian mission at Lapwai. First school in Idaho opens for Indian children at Lapwai. First White Child born in Idaho is Eliza Spaulding born at Lapwai. In 1839 Henry Spaulding starts publishing the Bible in Lapwai on the earliest printing press in the Pacific Northwest. Chief Timothy, the first native Christian leader, baptized November 17 1839. Troops were rushed to the Nez Perce Reservation in 1862, when miners were flocking into area and encroaching onto the reservation. The post was originally manned by Volunteers but replaced by Regulars in 1866. In 1884, the fort began to lose its value as a military installation; one building, now part of the Nez Perce Historical Park, remains. From Lewiston, take US 9S east of Lapwai; one mile south of town is the Indian Agency.
FORT LARAMIE(Wyoming)
Originally built in 1834 and named Fort William’s (later Fort John), this site was the first permanent trading post set up in what is now the State of Wyoming. Most of the great Indian treaties were signed there. By the Treaty of 1868, white men were forbidden to enter the Powder River country, but prospectors made their way into the adjacent Black Hills which caused the Indians to protest by continued raids on settlements. The climax of Indian fighting came in 1876 when Generals Crook, Custer, and MacKenzie, and great Chiefs Sitting Bull, Dull Knife, Red Cloud and others wrote American history with bullets and arrows. The post was abandoned in 1890. The site is under extensive restoration. Take Interstate 25 US 87 north from Cheyenne to US 26; turn east to the town of Fort Laramie follow the marked gravel road two files to the site.
FORT LEAVENWORTH(Kansas)
Midway in the chain of American frontier forts, this site became the host important portal of the west. The tent camp of 1827 was just a beginning for a post that has continued as an active Army post for almost a century and a half. Fort Leavenworth was the base on many exploring parties, boasting huge corrals and supply yards for outfitting wagon trains. In 1839, Colonel Stephen Kearny led an expedition, composed of the largest mounted force of Regulars ever assembled up to that time to the Cherokee Nation. During the Civil War, Confederates twice threatened the post. Today, it is the location of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College, offering outstanding courses of Military instruction. A large Museum and historic tours recapture the old days. Fort Leavenworth is north of the town of Leavenworth on State 82.
FORT LEMHI(Idaho)
In 1823 a battle was fought in Lemhi Valley between men of the Snake River country expedition and the Piegan Indians. In 1858 Mormon missionaries established Fort Lemhi, reclaim first land by irrigation in Idaho. In 1858 Bannock Indians attacked the Mormons at Fort Lemhi, killing two and driving the remaining back to Utah. Present day Tendoy Idaho and the birthplace of Sacahawea, on State 28 locate it.
FORT LOGAN(Montana)
This site was named Camp Baker when it as first settled in 1869 on the Smith River. During the next summer, it was relocated 10 miles farther up the river. The post was primarily to protect nearby towns, although several commanders believed there was no real need for a military post there. In 1878, the post was renamed for Captain William Logan, who was killed in the Battle of the Big Hole. It was abandoned just two years later. From White Sulphur Springs, take US 12-west one mile past the post office; turn right onto a gravel road and drive 19 miles to reach the ranch of George Berg, which occupies the old fort buildings. Permission to visit should be requested.
FORT MANDAN(North Dakota)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at this location in October of 1804 and built formidable shelters against the coming winter. They named the carp Fort Mandan, and their relation with the local Mandan Indians and French fur trappers were friendly. In April 1805, the famous party left the post and continued through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. Just North of Washburn, drive west three files on US 83 to the site.
FORT MCKINNEY(Wyoming)
General George Crook founded this post in 1876 as a supply depot, naming it Cantonment Reno. In 1877, it was redesignated Fort McKinney. Five years General Philip Sheridan made it a permanent post in anticipation of continuing wars with the Indians and several Cavalry troops were moved in. Sheridan's Indian battle never materialized, but considerable friction among cattlemen, rustlers, and farmers in 1892 and 1893 had to be settled by the Army. The post was transferred to the State of Wyoming and the Wyoming Soldiers and Sailors Home was moved there in l903. From Buffalo, you will take US 16 west for three miles to the fort.
FORT MEADE(South Dakota)
Fort Meade, established in l878, was once an active Cavalry post charged with maintaining the peace with the Cheyenne Indians in the area. Much of the Wounded Knee Campaign was directed from Fort Meade and post troops were in the battle. This post lasted longer than any other Dakota installation built during the Indian Wars, continuing Cavalry operations until after 1935. Some early structures were replaced after the turn of the century, but the officers' quarters are basically unchanged since l888. In 1944, the post was ceded to the Veterans administration and is now a Veterans hospital. Fort Meade is two miles east of Sturgis on State 34.
FORT RILEY(Kansas)
Established in 1853, this post was first known as Camp Center because of its proximity to the geographical center of the US. It was renamed for General Bennett Riley, a hero of the Mexican War, six month later. The post's soldiers main concern was confining Indian hostilities, a mission they pursued until the end of the frontier. In 1866, Lieutenant Colonel General A Custer organized the 7th Cavalry at Fort Riley. As the US Army's Cavalry Center, troops from this post participated in nearly all-western campaigns. The 100,000-acre installation is now home of the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One), Irwin Army Hospital, and Third ROTC Region. Located at Fort Riley are the US Cavalry Museum, Custer's Home, and the First Territorial Capitol. From Junction City, take State 18 to the fort. Dwight D Eisenhower Center (library, hone, and place of Meditation), located in Abilene, Kansas. This was Eisenhower's boyhood home. Abilene is about 40 miles west of Ft. Riley on I-70 in Dickinson County.
FORT SCOTT(Kansas)
Daniel Boone's son, Captain Nathan Boone, was in the 1837 party, which selected this site on which a post was established in 1842. During the Mexican War, with the constant necessity of protecting the Santa Fe Trail, Dragoons were stationed there until well into the 1850's. In pre-Civil War Kansas, this post was a hotbed of secessionists and (Nonslavery) "Free Staters." When the war started, General William S. Harney established his Department of the West headquarters there. Fort Scott has also been command post for the Army of the Frontier, the District of Kansas, and forces of Southeastern Kansas. Headquarters House today contains a historical museum and many other fort buildings also remain. From downtown Fort Scott, on US 69, go north to Wall Street; the post is off Wall Street on Carroll Plaza. The fort commemorates events of civil war period.
FORT SHERMAN(Idaho)
In 1840 Father Pierre Jean de Smet begins his missionary work in Idaho. In 1842 Father Point establishes the Jesuit Coeur d' Alene Mission of the Sacred Heart near Saint Maries. The Mission moves to a site near Cataldo in 1846, and is transferred in 1877 to Desmet where it stands today. Camp Coeur d' Alene was established on a site chosen by General William T. Sherman for its beauty. In 1887, it was renamed Fort Sherman. Its three missions were to keep the peace in northern Idaho, watch the Canadian border, and protect the railroad and telegraph crews. The Canadians proved no problem, and the post was abandoned in 1900. The chapel, facing the old parade grounds still serves as church. The officer' quarters are now apartment houses. From Spokane, Washington, take US 10 east 10 miles to Coeur d' Alene, turn right to the City Park; four blocks west is the site of the fort.
FORT SISSETON(South Dakota)
Since 1864, an elevated tableland known as Coteau de' Prairies has been the site of Fort Sisseton. The post was called "peacekeeper of the Dakota Kettle Lake region". First named Fort Wadsworth it was renamed in 1876 for the Indian tribe living there. Later, its main activities becomes more social than military, and, in 1888, the Army withdrew. The brick and stone buildings are still in fine condition today. Fort Sisseton is on State 10, 25 miles west of the town of Sisseton.
FORT SPOKANE(Washington)
This post was little combat. First called Camp Spokane in 1880, it was designated a fort two years later when six companies of Infantry and Cavalry were garrisoned here. Their duties were to keep the peace between Whites and Indians and guard the Canadian border, but they performed little more than occasional police activity. The fort was used as an Indian school from 1899 until 1929. Five original structures remain. From Wilbur take US 2 east approximately 30 miles; turn north on State 25 and drive 24 miles to the fort.
FORT STANTON(New Mexico)
From its beginning in 1855 until it became a hospital in 1896; this post was much American history in the making. Abandoned from the Civil War, the fort was burned down by Confederate soldiers. Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson brought his volunteers there in l862 and put them to work rebuilding the fort. Billy the Kid stayed overnight in the fort guardhouse one of the few jails that held him. During the 1890's the post kept watch on Mescalero and Jicarillo Apaches. The old barracks now serve as headquarters for Fort Stanton Tuberculosis Hospital, and the original officers' homes are still in use. From Roswell go west on US 380 for 66 miles, turn south on State 214; drive five miles to Fort Stanton.
FORT SUMNER(New Mexico)
Established in 1862, Fort Sumner was the result of a noble idea. It was to be a "Chaplain posts" where Indian children could be educated. It was a miserable experiment, both for the Army and for the Indians. When floods, disease, pests, and crop failures caused near starvation, the Indians returned to their native haunts. Abandoned buildings and surrounding lands were auctioned to a private developer who turned the officers' quarters into a mansion. Billy the Kid was killed there on July 17, 1881. A Billy the Kid Museum, located sever miles southeast of the town of Fort Sumner, has a collection of fort and area relics. The town is at the junction of US 60 and US 84 in the eastern part of the state.
SUTTER'S FORT(California)
John A Sutter arrived in California in 1839 and promptly built fortifications to protect his Mexican land grant. Following the United States' occupation of California, the Stars and Stripes first flew over the outpost on July 11, 1846, when troops were garrisoned there. After gold was discovered at his mill, Sutter lost possession of the fort. By 1860, its outer walls and rooms lay in ruin; The State of California acquired the site in 1890 and began restoration. Of the original buildings, the two-story central structure, made of adobe and oak, remains preserved. John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, received a 28,000-acre Mexican land grant in the Sacramento Valley in 1841. Sutter's Fort became the destination for early immigrants coming to California, including the Donner Party, which lost many lives in a mountain blizzard. The fort, at 27th and L streets in Sacramento, has been restored to its 1846 appearance and is open daily, except for some major holidays. Of special interest is the new Summer Interpretive Program, which runs daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. It has an excellent museum. The fort is on L Street, between 27th and 28th, Sacramento, California
FORT TOTTEM(North Dakota)
Established in 1867 to protect westward stagecoach and mail routes, Fort Totten became a haven for displaced neighboring Indians. Despite the hardships of subzero temperatures, food shortages, and many diseases, the installation grew within a few years into a military community properly squared sound its parade ground, which is still well preserved today. In 1890, the post became an Indian reservation boarding school. From Devils Lake, take State 57 southwest approximately 15 miles to the fort.
FORT UNION(New Mexico)
Started in 1851, Fort Union went up piecemeal with troop labor during a government economy drive. As it becomes a major supply depot for the Southwest, its men were continually busy on the front as well as with construction tasks. They performed escort duty on the Santa Fe Trail and were in the field regularly scouting, patrolling and skirmishing with local Indians until 1874. The soldiers of Fort Union also played a significant role in repelling the Confederate invasion of New Mexico in 1862. The sprawling post combined three sub-installations, the Post, The Quartermaster Depot, and the Ordnance Depot. The Army remained there until 1889. The National Park Service now administers Fort Union. Take US 85 north from Las Vegas, New Mexico; turn onto State 477 to the fort.
FORT UNION(North Dakota)
This trading post of the American Fur company functioned between l828 and 1867 as a center for a cluster of carps throughout the region, and to dominated the economy of the northern Plains until the Arty dismantled it more than a century ago, and is being rebuilt as a tribute to the fur traders who helped shape the region. Fort Union is the place where the story of the Upper Missouri fur trade is told. It is on a 430-acre Fort Union National Historic Site. John Jacob Astor's powerful American Fur Company built Fort Union in 1828 near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Jean Pierre DeSmet, an early missionary, once described it as the "vastness and finest of the forts the American Fur Company has on the Missouri." To serve Indian trappers, it furnished ammunition; vegetables dried meat, flour, and blacksmith service, all of which were exchanged for valuable buffalo robes. Assiniboin, Cree, Crow, Blackfeet and Sioux Indians peacefully coexisted with Fort Union's traders for a generation before the great Indian Wars broke out in the West. Steamboats were welcomed by thunderous cannon salutes as they brought in fresh supplies and departed laden with furs. The site is about one mile west of Fort Buford on the Montana border.
FORT VANCOUVER(Washington)
The Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post on the north bank of the Columbia River (Opposite present-day Portland, Oregon} in 1824. The trading post became a military post in 1849 with the arrival of two companies of the 1st US Artillery. Their first camp was near the post and called Columbia Barracks. The following year, some quarters were constructed at the fort and other buildings required by the military were leased from the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1853, the post as designated Fort Vancouver. The Hudson’s Hay Company maintained its position until 1860 when it was moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The name of the post was changed to Vancouver Barracks in 1879. The US Army Reserve currently occupies the post, which includes a fine museum. From downtown Vancouver, take East 5th Street into the fort at the overpass with US 99.
FORT VERDE(Arizona)
This small stone fort was built in 1865 by a group of pioneers to protect their crops from Indian raids. A detail of Arizona Volunteers manned the site (then called Camp Lincoln), and it officially became a military post a year later. Because of a lack of supplies and pay, most men soon deserted. A Company of US Army Regulars arrived a few months later. The post was moved in 1871 to higher ground a mile south, and a Yavapi Reservation was created to the North. The fort headquarters is now a museum. The town of Camp Verde is 49 miles south of Flagstaff on Interstate 17 then two miles east on State 79.
FORT YUMA(California)
With the end of the Mexican War in 1848, the Territories of California and Arizona became part of the US. Within a year a ferry was established on the Colorado River for the emigrants taking the southern route to California. Fort Yuma was founded on the California side to protect the ferry crossing and offer assistance to the emigrant trains passing through. It was abandoned in 1883 and transferred to the Interior Department a year later. The fort now contains the Quechan Indian Museum housed in the old officers' mess. The fort is seven block east of US 80 on the California side of the Colorado River.