Minnesota Forts

American Forts: West

MINNESOTA

Last Update: 13/OCTOBER/2007

Fort Le Sueur (3)
(1755), near La Crescent
A French fort.

Fort Perrot
(1683 - 1687, 1689 - unknown), Read's Landing
A log fort built by Nicholas Perrot. Briefly abandoned due to Indian hostilities. Named Fort Bon Secours on a 1700 French map. Erroneously named Fort Le Sueur (2) on a 1703 French map, in reference to Fort Le Sueur (1) at Prairie Island.

Read's Landing Posts
(1810 - 1860), Read's Landing
Site of several trading posts, including Augustin Rocque's (Sr.) Post (1) (1810 - 1830), Augustin Rocque's (Jr.) Post (2) (1835 - 1860), Edward Hudson's Post (1840 - 1845), Charles Read's Post (1847 - unknown), and several others from 1840 - 1860.

Camp Lake View
(1884 - 1930 ?), near Lake City
A MN National Guard summer training camp. Replaced by Camp Ripley.

Fort Beauharnois
(Frontenac State Park)
(1727 - 1728, 1732 - 1756), Frontenac
A French 100-foot square palisaded fort, probably located on Sandy Point. Abandoned due to Sioux hostility, it was rebuilt four years later on higher ground. Probably abandoned again in 1737. Rebuilt again in 1750 and possibly renamed (or as another fort) Fort la Jonquiére. It was abandoned to send the troops east to fight the British.

Wells' Trading Post
(1839), Frontenac
A trading post, possibly operated by the American Fur Co., located on "Point des Sables". The American Fur Co. did have a post here in 1830 (name undetermined).

Fort Le Sueur (1)
(1694), Prairie Island
A French trading post on "Isle Pelée" (Bald Island), built by Pierre Charles Le Sueur.
An earlier French post may have been built here in 1654.

Oliver's Grove Post
(1832 - 1834), Hastings
An independent trading post operated by Joseph Brown. Site located at 2nd and Vermillion Streets. The town was originally named Oliver's Grove.

Grey Cloud Island Posts
(1836 - 1839), Grey Cloud Island
Several trading posts were established here.

Camp Ramsey (2)
(1898), St. Paul
A Spanish-American War muster camp for state troops, located at the State Fairgrounds west of Snelling Ave. and north of the railroad.

Camp Van Duzee
(1898), St. Paul
A Spanish-American War muster-out camp. Site located at University and Hamline Aves..

Fort Snelling (State Park)
(1819 - 1857, 1861 - 1946), Minneapolis
It was known as Cantonment New Hope and Cantonment Leavenworth until 1820, originally located on the south-side of the Minnesota River. Flooding forced the rebuilding on a new site across the river, called Camp Coldwater, about a mile and one-half from the site of the permanent fort, started in 1820. Known as Fort St. Anthony or Fort St. Peter's until 1825 when renamed. The St. Peter's Indian Agency was established here in 1819. The fort was abandoned in 1857, but reactivated in 1861 as a state training center during the Civil War. Federal troops returned in 1866, making the post the headquarters of the vast Military Department of Dakota. The post was used as a Regular Army mobilization and training center during the two World Wars. Transferred to the VA Hospital system after the war. Four of the original sixteen buildings still stand. Reconstructed in 1969. Admission fee. The Minnesota Historical Society Museum is here.

Benjamin Baker's Post (1) (1820's) was located at the Coldwater site. It was a stone house that was used as a school beginning in 1837 by the Fort Snelling children. It later became the St. Louis House Hotel (aka Mackenzie Hotel), then burned down in 1859. Located east of the fort was an American Fur Co. post (date ?). Located south of the fort was a Columbia Fur Co. post (date ?). The Spanish had proposed a fort here in 1791 to halt British trade west, but was never built. The Minnesota River was originally known as the St. Peter's River.

Land's End Post
(1831), Minneapolis
A trading post located on the Minnesota River one mile upriver from Fort Snelling.

David Faribault's Post (2)
(1846), Elk River
A fur trading post established by David Faribault, son of Jean Baptiste Faribault. Also known as Elk River Post.

Robert Dickson's Post (2)
(1805 - 1806), Sauk Rapids
An independent fur trade post located south of town along the Mississippi River.

David Faribault's Trading Post (1)
(1840's), Shakopee
A trading post reconstructed at Historic Murphy's Village.

Fort Lewis
(1826), near Carver
A trading post located at "Little Rapids", established by Jean Baptiste Faribault, father to David and Alexander.

Cannon River Posts
(1826 - unknown), Rice and Le Sueur Counties
Several American Fur Co. posts were established by Alexander Faribault at the "Bois Plumé" (Bois Plaine) on the Cannon River, located at the present-day sites of Faribault, Morristown, and Waterville, as well as on the northern shore of Cannon Lake, opposite Warsaw. Alexander was established in Faribault in 1834.

Martin McLeod's Post (1)
(1840), near St. Peter
A fur trade post located across the Minnesota River from Traverse.

Fort Union
(1826 - 1840's), Traverse
A Columbia Fur Co. post, later an American Fur Co. post. The town was originally Traverse des Sioux.

Fort l'Huillier
(1700 - 1702), Mankato
A French post established by Pierre Charles Le Sueur for trading and mining. Also known as Fort Vert. Abandoned due to Indian hostility. The site is located on a 70-foot high natural mound at the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers, now farmland. No trace exists of the fort.

Cottonwood River Post
(1826 - unknown), near New Ulm
A trading post located at the mouth of the Cottonwood River (Rivière aux Liards).

Camp Mueller
(1898), New Ulm
A Spanish-American War demobilization camp located at the fairgrounds.

Fort Ridgely (State Park)
(1853 - 1867), near Fairfax
Mostly ruins, 17 restored buildings, plus a reconstructed commissary (museum). Located at the mouth of the Rock River, this was the main Federal post associated with the 1862-63 Sioux Uprising, originally built to patrol the newly established Sioux Indian Reservation. Admission fee.

Camp Beaver Creek
(1860), near Morton
A temporary camp located 16 miles northwest of Fort Ridgely.

Wood's Trading Post
(1856 - 1857), Jackson
A civilian post (single log cabin) operated by brothers Charles, William, and George Wood. Indians attacked the settlement (originally named Springfield) in 1857, killing Charles and William. The settlement was then abandoned for several years.

Lake Talcot Post
(1835), Talcot Lake
An American Fur Co. post.

Fort Pipestone
(1863), Pipestone
A reconstructed fort of the Sioux Uprising. Possibly built by Capt. Whitney's expedition from New Ulm to Fort Lookout, South Dakota.

James Lynd's Post
(1855 - 1857), Lynd
A fur trade post on the Redwood River.

Sacred Heart Post
(1783), near Sacred Heart
A trading post established by Charles Patterson at Patterson's Rapids on the Minnesota River. Also known as Charles Patterson's Post. The Sioux gave him the nickname "Sacred Hat" for the bearskin hat that he wore. The name was later corrupted.

Camp Yellow Medicine
(1860), near Granite Falls
A Federal encampment at the Yellow Medicine Indian Agency, aka Upper Sioux Indian Agency. Camp Livingstone (1860) was located just west of the Agency. Previously here was Camp Belle Plain in 1857.

Camp Release
(State Historical Wayside Park)
(1862 - 1864), near Montevideo
A prison camp for Sioux (Dakota) Indians. The Sioux had previously released 270 captives here after the initial thrust of the Sioux Uprising, hence the name. A monument is in the small park on US 212.

Fort (Joseph) Renville
(Lac qui Parle State Park)
(1826 - 1851), Lac qui Parle
An independent fur post, mission and Chippewa dwellings. The mission still stands. Another website from MNHS.org.

Fort Adams
(1826 - unknown), Lac qui Parle
A Columbia Fur Co. trading post.

Fort Greene
(1826), undetermined location
An American Fur Co. post located on the "River au Gris of the St. Peters", below Big Stone Lake.

Hazen Mooers' Post (1)
(1823 - unknown), near Ortonville
A trading post located on Big Stone Lake.
Also located here or nearby was Martin McLeod's Post (2) (1843 - 1846).

Robert Dickson's Post (1)
(1800), Lake Traverse
An independent fur trade post.

Fort Washington
(1823 - unknown), Lake Traverse
A Columbia Fur Co. trading post. Taken over by the American Fur Co. in 1827. The American Fur Co. had a competing post here from 1824 - 1826.

1862 - 63 Sioux Uprising Forts
(1862 - 1864), various locations

Fort Belmont, Jackson, a reconstructed civilian fort.
Blue Earth Fort, Blue Earth, a civilian and military fort.
Martin Lake Fort, near Northrop, a civilian and military fort.
Winnebago Fort, Winnebago, a civilian and military fort.
Garden City Fort, Garden City, a civilian and military fort.
Camp Lincoln, South Bend, a temporary POW camp for 303 Sioux after the Sioux Uprising. Only 38 were actually hung at Mankato.
Fort Cox, Madelia, a civilian and military fort.
Marysburg Fort, Marysburg, a civilian and military fort.
Hanska Old Fort, Hanska, a civilian fort located at Lake Hanska County Park.
New Ulm Fort, New Ulm, a civilian and military fort. The town was attacked twice.
Hutchinson Fort, Hutchinson, a timber stockade in the center of town providing refuge for 400 people. Attacked.
Forest City Stockade, Forest City, a 1976 reconstruction of a civilian stockade.
Maine Prairie Fort, Maine Prairie, a civilian 100-foot square stockade with a two-story blockhouse.
Fort (Samuel) Holes, St. Cloud, a strong civilian fort. There were also two other forts in town. (Broker's Blockhouse ?)
St. Joseph Forts, St. Joseph, three civilian timber blockhouses were built here.
Sauk Centre Fort (1862 - 1865), Sauk Centre, a civilian log stockade. Taken over and enlarged by U.S. Army until 1865 as a supply post to Fort Abercrombie, ND.

NOTE: There were about 30 additional civilian defenses built throughout the southern part of the state (names and locations ?) in a general north-south line from St. Cloud to the Iowa state border. Fort Slocum, Fort Hill (locations ?). Others may have possibly been located in or near Morton (Birch Coolie - Lower Sioux Indian Agency), Glencoe, Preston Creek, Preston Lake, Pipe Lake, Greenleaf (Green Lake), Grove City (Long Lake), Acton (attacked), Kingston, Manannah, Paynesville, Springhill (Lake George), Alexandria, and Pomme de Terre Lake.

Camps of General H.H. Sibley's Campaign
(1863), various locations
(see also NORTH DAKOTA and SOUTH DAKOTA pages)
Federal encampments during the 1863 campaign to put down the Sioux Uprising.
Camp Pope about one mile northwest of Redwood Falls. General Sibley's starting point of the campaign.
Camp Crooks near Delhi.
Camp Miller across the Minnesota River from Sacred Heart, below the mouth of Yellow Medicine Creek. The Battle of Wood Lake occurred near here in 1863.
Camp Baker near Granite Falls at the Upper Sioux Indian Agency.
Camp McPhaill across the Minnesota River from Montevideo.
Camp Ramsey (1) near Cerro Gordo.
Camp Averill across the Minnesota River from Odessa, on the Yellow Bank River.

Other Federal encampments not associated with General Sibley were:
Camp Marsh near Groghan.
Camp Goodhue near Henderson on the Rush River (?).
Camp Burns near Fairfax on Little Rock Creek (?).

NEED MORE INFO: Fort Rush (date ?) an Army post or a fur trading post, possibly located on the Rush River in Sibley County, or near Rush Lake in Chisago County.
Towns:

Northern Minnesota - page 2