This 5-acre preserve contains the remains of historic Fort Atkinson, an 1840s federal military post. It is located on the west side of the town of Fort Atkinson in southern Winneshiek County. It was dedicated as a state preserve in 1968 for its historical, archaeological, and geological features.
Directions
- From Highway 24 (1st Street) in the town of Fort Atkinson, take 1st Street NW (sign: Fort Atkinson Historic Site) west three blocks to 8th Avenue (watch for Historic Site signs).
- Turn south (left) and go to the preserve entrance (sign: Fort Atkinson— U.S. Military Fort).
Hours: Summer, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. The museum is open for special events and by appointment. None of the buildings are handicapped accessible.
Historical Context
Fort Atkinson was located in the “Neutral Ground,” a forty-mile-wide strip of land extending from northeast to central Iowa that was established to separate the Sioux Indians from the Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki) Indians. Ostensibly, another purpose was to protect the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indians who had been relocated into the area, as well as prevent them from returning to their ancestral home in southwest Wisconsin.
The fort was named in honor of Brigadier General Henry Atkinson, who was the highest-ranking military officer stationed in the West at the time. As such, he was the commanding officer in charge of the Winnebago resettlement efforts.
Construction & Geological Significance
The fort was constructed in this locality because of the plentiful sources of building stone. A limestone quarry west of the fort furnished stone for foundations and buildings. This limestone is the geological type-section of the “Fort Atkinson Limestone,” a rock unit within the larger Maquoketa Formation of Ordovician age (450 million years old). The quarry is one of only a few places where this unit is exposed and is a classic reference for geological studies.
The Maquoketa Formation was named for exposures in the Little Maquoketa River valley in Dubuque County, but none of the five members of the formation have a type locality there. Four of the members (Elgin, Clermont, Fort Atkinson, and Brainard) are named for localities in northeastern Fayette County or southwestern Winneshiek County. A fifth member, the Neda, is poorly exposed in Iowa; its type locality is in eastern Wisconsin.
Fort Layout & Features
The fort was built by a crew of fifty workmen. The original layout of the fort site included a total of twenty-four buildings and a wooden picket stockade wall. Inside the stockade, a central parade ground was enclosed by two stone officers’ quarters and two log barracks for the soldiers, one of which included a hospital, school, and chapel.
Cannon houses at the northeast and southwest corners, which guarded the approaches to the fort, as well as the powder magazine in the southeast corner were all made of stone. A quartermaster’s storehouse (commissary) and a sutler’s store were both made of logs and were located in the northwest corner of the fort. There was a big gate at the east end of the north barracks, one at the west end by the guardhouse, and one at the west end of the south barracks.
Outside the eleven-foot, nine-inch stockade wall were fourteen buildings: four large stables, a granary, a carpenter shop, a blacksmith shop, a bakehouse, three laundresses’ huts, a root house, an ice house, and a dwelling house, most of which were located on the north side of the fort.
Military Life & Abandonment
Dragoons (mounted troops) were one of the primary regiments stationed at the fort. The fort was never attacked and daily life was peaceful for the 150 people garrisoned here. In 1846, the regular army troops were sent to Mexico and the Southwest to participate in the Mexican-American War.
Volunteer troops from Iowa then took up residence at the fort and performed many of the same duties as the regular army. They stayed until January ‑1849, when the post was abandoned after the Winnebago Indians were moved to a new reservation in Minnesota.
Post-Abandonment & Preservation
In 1855, the buildings at the fort were sold for $3,521. The land was given to the General Land Office for regular distribution and sold to settlers for $1.25 per acre. Settlers building homes found the fort a wonderful source of glass, hardware, and building stone. Windows and doors were taken as well as hasps, hinges, lumber, and so forth. Most of the buildings were destroyed except the southwest blockhouse, the powder magazine, and a portion of the north stone barracks. The stockade was used for firewood by travelers.
Restoration Efforts
In 1921, the citizens of the town of Fort Atkinson encouraged the state of Iowa to acquire the fort. It was initially classified a state park. In the late 1920s, the northeast blockhouse was rebuilt by volunteers. From 1939 to 1941, Sigurd Reque cleared the building foundations surrounding the parade ground and reconstructed part of the stockade. Restoration of the surviving barracks and development of the museum exhibits began.
The Iowa Conservation Commission resumed reconstruction work in 1958. By 1962, the north and east stockade wall, and enough of the stockade around the bloc kÂhouses to outline the original stockade, were replaced. The main gate was replaced, the north barracks and hospital building were stabilized, and a museum was established with artifacts and information on display pertaining to the fort and the military forces who served there. Signs and markers were placed to identify each fort building.
In 1966, an archaeological study excavated china, glassware, and other artifacts from the privies behind the officers’ quarters.
Current State & Activities
The fort was dedicated as a state preserve in 1968. The southwest blockhouse, powder magazine, and one-third of the north stone barracks (the exposed white plaster and fireplaces were part of the hospital) still remain in their original structure.
The reconstructed northeast blockhouse, well, and parade ground still exist. The foundation walls of the commanding officer’s quarters, B Co. 1st Dragoons’, K Co. 1st Infantry’s and I Co. 1st Dragoons’ barracks, guardhouse, commissary, and sutler’s store are exposed.
The root house, ice house, stables, B Company’s stables, granary, quartermaster’s stable, bakehouse, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, the three laundresses’ huts, and the washhouse no longer exist, but their locations are known and archaeological deposits associated with some of these buildings have been identified.
The stockade is a replica of the original. The west and south walls have been reshaped to show where they once stood.
Museum & Annual Events
Museum artifacts on display include:
- Guns
- Small tools
- Clothing of the period
- Indian canoe
- Photographs of soldiers
- Prints of Indians
- Old letters
- Orders
- Maps
- Drawing of the fort
During the fall of 1977, the Iowa Conservation Commission joined the Iowa Development Commission for the first “Fort Atkinson Rendezvous.” Craftspeople, buckskinners, and military reenactors gathered to trade their goods and provide visitors with an interpretation of Iowa’s history. An annual rendezvous has been held ever since during the last full weekend in September. Visitors have an opportunity to experience a taste of military life on the frontier as it existed in the 1840s. Cannon drills are held every hour on the hour, with flint and steel contests, shooting demonstrations, and tomahawk and knife-throwing matches occurring throughout the weekend. A historic movie of Fort Atkinson is also shown every half-hour during the rendezvous. The fort is open from Memorial Day weekend through the Rendezvous at the end of September. There is no admission charge.
Another historical preserve in the immediate area of the preserve is Saint James Lutheran Church.