What's Inside

Table of Contents

• Fort Atkinson
• Fort Aubrey
• Fort Belmont
• Fort Dodge
• Fort Downer
• Fort Harker
• Fort Hays
• Fort Larned
• Fort Leavenworth
• Fort Lincoln
• Fort Mann
• Fort Monument
• Fort Riley
• Fort Scott
• Fort Wallace
• Fort Zarah
• Other Kansas Forts
• Kansas Forts During the Civil War

The following article was made available through the courtesy of Stephen Chinn. It should not be quoted or retransmitted without a full citation to the author, and should not be put into print -- in whole or part -- without the author's express permission.

The Kansas Heritage Server would like to thank Richard A. Ensminger for contributing to this material. Rich passed away 29 May 1996 at Kirkwood, Missouri. He was 58 years old and had been with ALMSA, SIMA, and LSSC since 1969. Rich loved to read about the old west, and this material is archived in Rich's memory.

This listing attempts to include all installations at which troops were stationed, ranging from the temporary camps and detachments to the more permanent forts. The term "fort" seemed to include many things; a fort could be a major, permanent installation, or it could be a temporary overnight affair. A camp could have been either, but more often the latter. This term sometimes was applied interchangeably, depending upon Army policy or the Congressional budget.

A "cantonment" was a semi-permanent camp before the Civil War, but usually a temporary place after the war. Detachments and stations usually were details of men under a sergeant or lieutenant located to protect a mail station, telegraph or heliograph post, or a stage line. Redoubts and batteries were protected small fort-like dugouts, the latter from which to fire a cannon.

* = Forts that were used by soldiers and civilians of other nations.

Fort Atkinson

Fort Atkinson was established 8 August 1850 by Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner, 1st U. S. Dragoons.

Fort Atkinson was located about 2 miles west of the present Dodge City in Ford County, south of what is now Highway 50, on the north side of the Arkansas River, near the site of old Fort Mann. The Caches were just north of Fort Atkinson and north of Highway 50.

Intended to control the Indians and protect the Santa Fe Trail. This small army post was made entirely of sod buildings. The Army soon had another enemy beside the Indians - field mice! Lieutenant Henry Heth, commanding officer, requisitioned a dozen cats from Fort Leavenworth to cope with the problem. Fort Atkinson was abandoned in 1854 due to the poor condition of the sod buildings.

Fort Aubrey

Fort Aubrey was established early in September 1865 by Captain Adolph Whitman, 48th Wisconsin Infantry. It was located in the present Hamilton County at the head of Spring Creek about two and one-half miles north of the Arkansas River, and about midway between the present towns of Kendall and Syracuse, and sixty miles east of Fort Lyon.

The site was originally recommended by Francis Xavier Aubry (1824-1854), trader and explorer, who was killed in Santa Fe 18 August 1854, and for whom the post was named. The post was designed to protect the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail and the Aubrey Cutoff during the Indian troubles of 1865-66.

Fort Aubrey, intended to be temporary, was used only nine months and abandoned on 15 April 1866, after the Indian troubles had subsided.

Fort Belmont: 2 miles west of Buffalo, Woodson County

Fort Belmont consisted of three or four small cabins called the officers' quarters. A few yards north of these cabins stood the actual fort, an earth embankment with logs placed on top. The parade ground was located a mile east of the officers' quarters. For a short time Fort Belmont was manned when Companies C and G of the 16th Regiment, under the commands of Capt. Joseph Gunby, 1st Lieutenant James Watkins, and 2d Lieutenant Robert Daniel called fort Belmont "home" for a few years.

These companies left the fort in October 1864, and the Indian agency, which was no longer needed, was closed. Fort Belmont never saw any military action during the Civil War and closed in 1865.

In 1867 a severe smallpox epidemic in the area caused many settlers to go elsewhere, leaving Belmont nearly deserted. The Belmont post office stayed open for ten more years but was finally ceased in 1877.

Fort Dodge

The post was designed to protect the U.S. mail and emigrant wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail, and to serve as a base of operations against hostile Indians. It was located on the left bank of the Arkansas River on the "Long Route" of the Santa Fe Trail five miles east of the present Dodge City. The site lay near the intersection of the "wet" and "dry" routes on the Santa Fe Trail.

In 1867 Fort Dodge was relocated and rebuilt in stone buildings. In 1868 Comanches and Kiowas attacked Fort Dodge, Kansas, killing four soldiers and wounding seventeen. Fort Dodge was abandoned October 2, 1882.

The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department 12 January 1885. The fort was converted to the Kansas Soldiers Home in 1889, and the original stone buildings are still in use.

Fort Downer

1860/1861 Smoky Hill Trail; 1865 town/stage station established; located south of WaKeeney in Trego County on Downer's Creek about 50 miles west of Fort Hays; name derived from Downer's Creek, which was named for James P. Downer (never a major), a Civil War veteran and member of a party that surveyed the Smoky Hill Trail route. 1866 Indians massacred residents; 30 May 1867 fortified to protect the stage route and served as a military post called Fort Downer; 1867 Indians burned fort; 1867 it was also used by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, 7th U. S. Cavalry, during his operations against Indians; 28 May 1868 fort abandoned;

Fort Harker: Ellsworth County

The original post (Fort Harker #1) was established August 1864 by troops of the 7th Iowa Cavalry, under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Allen Ellsworth, by order of Major General Samuel R. Curtis, commanding the department to protect the more remote frontier settlements. Originally called Fort Ellsworth, for Lt. Ellsworth. Originally located on the left bank of the Smoky Hill River at the point where the Santa Fe stage route crossed the river, about 3-4 miles southeast of the present town of Ellsworth.

It was designated as Fort Harker 11 November 1866 for Brigadier General Charles G. Harker, killed on 27 June 1864 in the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain.

In January 1867, the post was moved one mile northeast of Fort Harker #1 to the site of the present town of Kanopolis, Ellsworth County.

The post was used as a base for the distribution of supplies to posts farther west and for operations against hostile Indians in 1868-69. In September of 1868, Colonel George A. Forsyth, on orders from General Phil Sheridan, departmental commander, recruited a mounted company of fifty experienced Kansas frontiersmen to pursue a reportedly "small band" of Indians camped near the western Kansas border.

By nightfall of September 16, Forsyth and his command were on Arickaree Creek (Republican tributary) five miles due west of Kansas's northwest corner. The next morning they were surrounded by nearly a thousand Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux Indians. They retreated to an "island," a shrub-covered sandbar one hundred and twenty-five yards long and fifty yards wide, in the Arickaree and dug in. In early November 1868, the U.S. Army officially named it the Battle of Beecher's Island in honor of Lieutenant Beecher.

Later, Fort Harker served to protect the construction crews of the Kansas Pacific Railway. The usefulness of the post ended when the railroad reached Denver, and it was abandoned in 1873. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department on 12 July 1880.

Fort Hays

Fort Fletcher was established 11 October 1865 as a frontier military post to protect military roads, defend construction gangs on the Union Pacific Railroad, and guard the U.S. mail. The post was first designated Fort Fletcher, in honor of Governor Thomas C. Fletcher of Missouri.

On January 14, 1866, Lieutenant Bell and twenty men of the 13th Missouri Cavalry were sent to Fort Fletcher for supplies.

On 11 November 1866, the name was changed to Fort Hays, for Brigadier General Alexander Hays, killed 5 May 1864 in the Battle of the Wilderness.

By late spring of 1869, the Seventh Cavalry, including Captain Keogh and his horse, Comanche, were stationed at Fort Hays, Kansas.

Fort Hays was abandoned in November 1889 after the Indian Wars had ended. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department 6 November 1889, and to the state by a Congressional act 28 March 1900.

The original stone blockhouse, guardhouse and officers' quarters have been renovated. Displays through the historic site illustrate pioneer and military history. Part of the site is now the campus of Fort Hays State College.

Fort Larned

"Camp on Pawnee Fork" and Camp Alert, as Fort Larned was first known, was established 22 October 1859 as a military post to protect travelers and commerce and mail on the Santa Fe Trail from Indians. It also provided a more centralized point for the distribution of annuities, as provided by treaty, to the Indians.

The original structure was built of sod in the heart of Indian hunting grounds in Kansas territory. 1860 Fort Larned was relocated 2 1/2 miles west.

1861-1868 Fort Larned was the site of an Indian Agency, an attempted peaceful administration of the Southern Plains Indians by the Indian Bureau.

1862 - Until reinforced by Colorado and Kansas Volunteers, the small garrisons at Fort Larned were unable to prevent many attacks on caravans by the Kiowas, Apaches, and Arapahos.

1865 - Fort Larned was rebuilt with sandstone blocks. The Fort had officers quarters, barracks, a hospital, and stables. The blockhouse was built first, and all construction was completed by 1868.

Fort Larned was a key post during the Indian Wars of the late 1860s.

By 1878 the Indians had been moved to various reservations, and the communities of Larned, La Crosse and Kinsley sprang forth to serve the farmers who settled on the rich soil in the area.

Fort Larned was deactivated by the Army June 1878 and was abandoned 19 July 1878.

Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth, first known as Cantonment Leavenworth, was established by Henry Leavenworth on the Missouri River's right bank of Salt Creek 8 May 1827 to protect the western frontier and travelers on the Santa Fe Trail.

The post was evacuated in May 1829 and occupied by Kickapoo Indians until it was regarrisoned in the Fall of 1829. The name of the post was changed to Fort Leavenworth 8 February 1832.

1835 Dodge's expedition, on a summer tour, traveled from the South Platte down to the upper Arkansas by a route along the base of the Rockies, then followed down river past Bent's Fort to the Santa Fe Trail junction on the march back to Fort Leavenworth.

1845 Kearnys expedition journeyed from Fort Laramie southward to the South Platte, and then along the base of the Rockies to the upper Arkansas, followed it downstream, past Bent's Fort to the Santa Fe Trail en route back to Fort Leavenworth.

Fort Leavenworth had a vital role in the protection of Union interests in Kansas and western Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War, and was an attractive target throughout the war because of its arsenal. During the war Camp Lincoln was established on the military reservation of Fort Leavenworth to muster the volunteers coming into federal service.

7th Kansas Cavalry (Jennison's Jayhawkers) mustered in at Fort Leavenworth on August 31, 1861 (they were at Fort Leavenworth until about October 31, 1861). The unit had a terrible reputation at this time - lots of looting and murderous raids into Missouri. Captured and Exchanged at the battle of Little Blue (near KC) around November 11, 1861. Granted Furlough at Memphis, Tennessee on January 22, 1864. Mustered out at Fort Leavenworth on September 29, 1865.

Fort Leavenworth is the oldest permanent United States military post west of the Missouri River. The post is still operative as the 35th Infantry Division is stationed there.

Fort Lincoln

P.O. 1861-1879; 1863 established by James H. Lane; located 12 m. south of Fort Scott, Bourbon County; used primarily to house Confederate prisoners; 1864 abandonded and relocated; part of border defense system of Fort Scott during Civil War; protect Kansas residents against attacks from Confederate forces; name changed to Osaga and then replaced by Fulton.

Fort Mann

Fort Mann was located about 8? or .8? miles west of the present Dodge City in Ford County, on the north bank of the Arkansas River, near (east of) the site of old Fort Atkinson and the Caches. It was 25 miles below (east of) the Cimarron Crossing of the Santa Fe Trail.

Established because the government needed a post about equidistant from Fort Leavenworth and Santa Fe for the repair of wagons and replacement of animals. Built by Captain Daniel P. Mann, master teamster, for whom the post was named, and a corps of forty teamsters, by order of Captain William D. McKissack, assistant quartermaster.

Although this was not a regular military post, it was defensible and was occupied from time to time. The ten soldiers there could scarcely defend themselves, let alone passing caravans. During the year, Commander Lieutenant Gilpin counted 3,000 wagons, 12,000 people, and 150,000 head of stock that passed the Fort. The Comanches and Kiowa Indians killed forty-seven of these Americans and stole 6,500 head of stock.

Fort Mann was repaired and enlarged in 1848. Fort Mann was abandoned in 1850 when Fort Atkinson was established.

Fort Monument

1860/1861 Smoky Hill Trail; originally a station on the stage and mail route; Fort Monument established Nov. 1865; located in Gove County, between Fort Hays and Fort Wallace, near some monument-shaped rocks that gave the post its name; The post was also referred to as Fort Pyramid, but in official documents it is designated Monument Station; a detachment of troops were sent there by order of Major General Grenville M. Dodge to protect the station from Indian depredations; 1867/1870 K.P. R.R.; June 1868 garrison was withdrawn;

Fort Riley

Fort Riley is located on the north bank of the Kansas River three miles from Junction City at the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers. It was located between the Oregon and Santa Fe trails to provide protection for travelers on overland routes. Fort Riley soon became a supply depot for the western Army forts.

Fort Riley, established in 1852 as Camp Center, because of its proximity to the geographical center of the United States. Fort Riley was established 17 May 1853 in Kansas Territory by Captain Charles S. Lovell, 6th U.S. Infantry, on a site recommended by Colonel Thomas T. Flauntleroy, 1st U. S. Dragoons.

On 27 June 1853, it was designated Fort Riley, in honor of Colonel Bennett Riley, 1st U.S. Infantry, who died on 9 June 1853. Construction of the permanent cavalry post was commenced in 1855 under the direction of Captain Edmund A. Ogden, 8th U. S. Infantry. The first Territorial Capitol of Kansas was built of native stone July 1855 at Pawnee on the reservation.

After the Civil War, troops from Fort Riley were needed to protect workers constructing the Kansas Pacific Railroad from the Indian attacks.

Wild Bill Hickok was a scout for Fort Riley starting in 1867.

Fort Riley became known as the "Cradle of Cavalry." The Cavalry came to the fort in 1884. The infamous 7th Cavalry was here, and the 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," is here. This division participated in Operation Desert Shield (Dec. 1990) and Storm (Jan. 1991) in Saudi Arabia, "The Land of Sand." The post is still operative.

Fort Scott

Fort Scott, named in honor of General Winfield Scott, was established 30 May 1842 at Marmaton crossing of the Fort Leavenworth-Fort Gibson military road.

It was among nine forts originally planned to line the area between the Great Lakes and New Orleans to separate proposed Indian lands and white settlements.

Normal daily activities included the general construction of the fort and drill by the Dragoons (horse soldiers). On occasion map making expeditions were made.

The post was virtually abandoned in April 1853, when the garrison was transferred to Fort Riley and other western posts. The buildings were sold at public auction 16 May 1855. The Government did not own the land.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Fort Scott was reactivated 29 March 1862 and again assumed importance as a military outpost. Fort Scott was abandoned in 1865.

Fort Wallace

1860/1861 Smoky Hill Trail; 1865 establised to protect settlers against the Indians; western most frontier post in Kansas; located on the south fork of the Smoky Hill River in Wallace County; 1870 K.P. R.R.; 1882 abandonded;

Fort Zarah

Other Kansas Forts

   FORT                     LOCATION            ACTIVE YEARS
===============================================================================

    * Bain, Ft.             Bourbon County        1857-58

    Bateman, Camp           Sub-post to           1857-58
                            Ft. Leavenworth

    Fort Baxter             Baxter Springs        1863

    Beecher, Camp           1 mi. from Wichita    1868-69
     Camp Wichita
     Camp Davidson
     Camp Butterfield

    Big Creek,              On Butterfield route  c. 1865
    Station at

   * Bissell, Ft.          Near Phillipsburg     1872-78

   Blair, Ft.             Ft. Scott Blockhouse  c. 1861

   Blair, Ft.  Near Baxter's Springs c. 1863 The Kansas Heritage Server
would like to thank Earleene Spaulding for contributing this information
on Ft. Blair Thu, 17 Sep 1998.  Earleene Spaulding is the recording
historian for the Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum, P.O. Box 514,
Baxter Springs, Kansas 66713.

Fort Blair -site of quantrills massacre in oct 6, 1863 located baxter
springs-ks. was a log and earthworks fort- being reconstructed by baxter
springs heritage center and museum-national civil war cementary located
here 3rd wisconsin calvary under lt james pond-general blunt's band
massacred by quantrill here one of the first colored troops in battle of
civil war.

Fort Brooks--established August or September 1864.  Located on the
north bank of the Republican River in the present Cloud County.
It was built by the Shirley (now Cloud) County Militia. The post,
a log blockhouse, served as headquarters for defense against
hostile Indians.

   Caldwell, Camp         Caldwell              1884-85

  Carlisle Stage         35 mi. SE Grinnell    c. 1865
     Station, Detachment at

  Castle Rock            1 mi. E. Castle Rock  c. 1865
     Creek Stage Station, Detachment at

Fort Cavagnial        Kansas City            1744/45-60

This fort was in existence before the United States made the
Louisiana Purchase. Established in 1744 or 1745.  It was located
below the mouth of the Kansas River, possibly on the site of
present Kansas City, Kansas.  Built by Joseph Deruisseau, who, on
August 8, 1744, was granted a monopoly to trade with the Indians
along the Missouri River.  The post was connected with the French
plans to open trade with Santa Fe.  It consisted of a circular
palisade, enclosing a few cabins.  In 1758, it was garrisoned by
one officer and even or eight soldiers.  The French and Indian
War seriously affected the Indian trade and the post was
abandoned before 1760.

 Chalk Bluffs Stage     S. of Gove            c. 1865
     Station, Detachment at

  Cimarron Redoubt       12 mi. S. Ashland     1873

Fort Clinton was a "cavalry post" or "old blockhouse" located
near the Clinton community, circa 1840-1850.  Source: Martha
Parker at the Clinton Lake Historical Museum.

Cow Creek crossing

1865 - A small military post established near the Cow Creek
crossing with barracks and a blacksmith shop.

 Crossing of the                               1864
      Arkansas, Station at

Fort Defiance - Douglas County

Fort Defiance was in southern or southwestern Douglas County near
Twin Mounds or Globe, circa 1855-1861.

 Grinnell Springs       Gove County            c. 1865
      Stage Station, Detachment at

 Henning. Ft.           Ft. Scott Blockhouse   c. 1861

Henshaw Station - Logan County
     Henshaw's Stage
     Detachment at Henshaw Station

     Henshaw Station, a military post founded about 1865 shortly
after the Civil War, was located near McAllaster about nine miles
east of Fort Wallace on Turkey Creek, not the best place for a
small command post because of the frequent Indian attacks in the
area.  The first recorded attack there was on June 5, 1867, when
the Indians killed four men and stampeded the horses.  At the
time the station was guarded by only ten soldiers and two stock
traders, so pursuit of the Indians was out of the question.  By
the time a force arrived from Fort Wallace, the Indians had
dispersed.

Hoffman, Camp                                 1867-68

 Humboldt, Ft.                                 no date

 Insley, Ft.            Ft. Scott Blockhouse   1861

Fort Jewell (1870-1870)

It was built on 13 and 14 May 1870 at the town of Jewell in north
central Kansas.  The post was built by the home guard, William D.
Street, captain, because of a rumor that the Cheyenne Indians
were on the war-path.  It consisted of a sod enclosure fifty
yards square with walls four feet thick and seven feet high.  A
militia company organized by all of the settlers along Buffalo
Creek garrisoned the post. The settlers remained in it until 28
June 1870, by which time the Indian scare had abated.  Then a
company of the 3rd U. S. Artillery took over and remained in the
fort until fall.

 Kickapoo, Camp at                         1858

Fort Kirwin (1865-1865)
     Camp Kirwin

Fort Kirwin was established 10 July 1865.  It was located near
the confluence of Bow Creek and the North Solomon River in the
present Phillips County 1.5 miles south of Kirwin. Established by
Lt. Colonel John S. Kirwin, 12th Tennessee Cavalry, and a company
of Tennessee volunteers who were sent as an escort for a survey
party and to scout the country for hostile Indians.  The post was
a summer encampment only, not a fort.  Abandoned 3 September
1865.

Fort Lane

Fort Lane was established in 1856.  It played a role at the time
of Quantrill's raid.  The fort was abandoned in 1857.  The ruins
of Fort Lane were located on the east side of Mt. Oread, which is
now occupied by Kansas University, about where Spooner Hall is on
the northeast corner at 14th and Jayhawk Blvd. in West Lawrence,
Douglas County, Kansas.

Fort Lecompton

Fort Lecompton was a proslavery military post active during the
"Bleeding Kansas" era.

Leedy, Camp            Topeka                 c. 1898

 Lookout, Ft.           15 mi. W. Ft. Hays     1866-68
      Lookout Station

 Lower Cimarron         Near Ashland           1864-73
      Springs, Detachment at

A redoubt supervised by Lt. Richard T. Jacobs, built by two
companies in 1864 to protect the crossing midway between Fort
Dodge, Kansas, and Fort Supply, Oklahoma. See also North Redoubt,
and Cimarron Redoubt.

Fort Mackay (1850-1851)

Magruder, Camp         Near Ft. Leavenworth   1860

 Martin, Cantonment - Cow Island in Missouri River 1818-20;
1826; 1861
      Fort Kansas
      Camp Croghan

 Marysville, Camp       at Marysville          1857

 Miami Valley           Miami Valley           c. 1861
      Detachment at

 Montgomery, Ft.        Eureka                 1865-68

    Fort Montgomery was built in or near Eureka, in central
Greenwood County, in 1860 or 1861.  It was named for James
Montgomery, a free-state leader.  It was built by the local
citizens to protect themselves from attacks by Osage Indians and
proslavery forces.

Monument Springs, post at

North Redoubt          Vicinity of Ashland    1873

See Upper and Lower Cimarron Springs Station, and Cimarron
Redoubt.

 Ogallah, Camp          1 mi. W. Wakeeny       c. 1867

Fort Osage
     Fort Clark
     Fort Point
     Fort Sibley

Fort Osage was established in 1808 on the Missouri River east of
Independence, Missouri.  The Santa Fe Trail passed Fort Osage.
Fort Osage was abandonded in 1827.

Fort Osborne            Osborne County      c. 1878 



Prairie Dog Creek,                            1859
      Camp on

 Roach, Ft.             S. Border Neosho Co.   n.d.

Fort Saunders - Douglas County

Fort Saunders was a fortified proslavery camp at Franklin 12
miles southwest of Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.  
On August 12, 1856 D. S. 
Hoyt of Lawrence Douglas County, Kansas went there to speak with the 
commander, Colonel B. F. Treadwell, about the pillaging and plundering 
around Franklin.  As Hoyt left the camp, he was murdered.  That evening
twenty-five equestrians and fifty-six infantrymen left Lawrence,
Douglas County, Kansas in an attempt to break up the proslavery 
headquarters at Franklin and retake the cannon, "Old Sacramento."

Russell Springs        Near Russell Springs   c. 1865
      Stage Station, Detachment at

 Shawnee Mission        Shawnee Mission        1857
      Camp at

 Simple, Ft.            Topeka                 1863-66

 Solomon, Ft.           at Solomon             1864-65

 Smoky Hill            20 mi. SW. Oakley      c. 1865
      Stage Station, Detachment at

Fort Sully
     Camp Sully

Fort Sully was built in 1864 during the Civil War to protect Fort
Leavenworth and its vital arsenal in the heights overlooking the
main fort.  It was a redoubt at Fort Leavenworth.

Thompson, Camp         Near Ft. Leavenworth   1858

Fort Titus - Douglas County

     Fort Titus was the Colonel Titus cabin located one and 1/2
miles south of Lecompton.  In August 1856 free-state settlers
decided to destroy Titus's cabin and to burn Lecompton.  Word
reached Lecompton, and a force of thirteen proslavery men was
sent out to delay the attackers.  When they encountered 200 free-
state men, they took refuge in Titus's cabin.
     The free-state settlers attacked the cabin with the cannon
"Old Sacramento," using balls made from newspaper type that had
been thrown into the river at Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.  
The proslavery men soon ran out of ammunition and surrendered, 
and the cabin was burned
to the ground, but not before it had served its purpose.  The
delay had given the men in Lecompton enough time to strengthen
their defenses.  When the free-staters arrived, they found
themselves staring down the barrels of several hundred guns held
by the townspeople.  They hurriedly retreated.  Lecompton had
been saved, and Titus's cabin was known after that as Fort Titus.

Topeka, Point at       Topeka                 1857; 1883

Trading Post: Linn County

By 1834 an area near the Marais des Cygnes River was occupied by
two fur traders with the Northwestern Fur Company, Michel Giraud
and Philip Chouteau, who had established a profitable business
trading furs with the local Indian tribes at the Chouteau Trading
Post.  In 1842 General Winfield Scott built a log fort near the
trading post to house a company of dragoons, and the fort was in
service until after the Civil War.  That same year Michel Giraud
opened a store he called Trading Post in which he kept a small
stock of goods to trade with the Osage Indians in the area.

Upper Cimarron         Near Ashland           1864-73
      Springs, Station at

A redoubt built to protect the Cimarron Crossing midway between
Fort Dodge, Kansas, and Fort Supply, Oklahoma.  Construction in
1864 by two companies commanded by Lt. Richard T. Jacobs.

Wakarusa, Ft.         5 mi. SE Lawrence, Douglas County     c. 1857

Kansas Fort Sources

Barry, Louise. The Beginning of the West - Annals of the Kansas Gateway to the American West (1540-1854). Topeka: Kansas State Historical Society. 1972. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 78-172252

Dary, David. True Tales of Old-Time Kansas. University Press of Kansas. 1984

Davis, Kenneth S. Kansas - A History. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1984

Fitzgerald, Daniel. Ghost Towns of Kansas -- A Traveler's Guide. University Press of Kansas. 1988

Frazer, Robert W. Forts of the West. University of Oklahoma Press. 1965. Information provided by "Richard A. Ensminger"

The Garvey Foundation. Historical Album of Kansas. The Garvey Foundation: Wichita, Kansas. 1961

Hart, Herbert M. Old Forts of the Southwest. Information provided by "Richard A. Ensminger"

Martin, Gene and Mary. Trail Dust - A Quick Picture History of the Santa Fe Trail. Boulder: Johnson Publishing Company. 1972

Midwest Research Institute. Capper/MRI Quick-Fact Book of Kansas. Capper Press: Topeka, Kansas. 1990

Pollard, William C. "Kansas Forts During the Civil War."

Rydjord, John. Kansas Place-Names. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 1972

Socolofsky, Homer E. and Self, Huber. Historical Atlas of Kansas. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 1988

Authors: Stephen Chinn and Richard A. Ensminger

Site created 11 Oct 1993

• The Old West Kansas sites are maintained by George Laughead Jr., maintainer of Web Site Tools for non-profits and Mountain Plains Museums Museums Myspace session. Thanks to Lynn H. Nelson.
  Updated: 08 May 2010.
• WWW-VL: History: United States History


Old West Kansas maintained at WWW Virtual Library @ www.vlib.us

Return to the Top.

Home | Cowboys | Forts | Gunfighters
Peoples | Timeline | Trails | Tribes