Fort Atkinson in Winneshiek County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Stockade & Main Gate
Protecting the Troops
Fort Atkinson State Preserve
August 17, 2017
1. Stockade & Main Gate Marker
Inscription.
Stockade and Main Gate. Protecting the Troops. The fort is laid out in a rectangular shape with the four main barracks arranged around a central parade ground. At 11 feet 9 inches high, the stockade surrounds the main buildings. The pickets, made mostly of oak and some linwood and bass, were hewed flat, fit close together and tipped with iron. There were tree gates in the stockade. The main gate opened to the north onto the Military Road which was the main route for travel. The original stockade was torn down and used for firewood in the 1950's.
Along the reconstructed stockade you will notice sections where the logs are horizontal rather than upright. Unique construction of the outer walls of some buildings became part of the stockade. You will also notice that in places the stockade walls are shorter to allow a view beyond the wall, an intentional design when the walls were renovated. Originally, gun openings were cut at regular intervals around the entire stockade wall allowing the military to see out and protect the fort.
Photo captions: , The entire area wasn't enclosed by the stockade. On the north side of Military Road stood a number of other buildings which played an important role in the fort's operation. There was a carpenter shop, bakehouse, laundress houses, blacksmith shop, quartermaster's office, stables and a granary.
All surface evidence of these buildings has been destroyed by modern agriculture and development, however, in 2006 an archaeological survey using ground-penetrating radar identified the buried remains of some of them.
The fort is laid out in a rectangular shape with the four main barracks arranged around a central parade ground. At 11 feet 9 inches high, the stockade surrounds the main buildings. The pickets, made mostly of oak and some linwood and bass, were hewed flat, fit close together and tipped with iron. There were tree gates in the stockade. The main gate opened to the north onto the Military Road which was the main route for travel. The original stockade was torn down and used for firewood in the 1950's.
Along the reconstructed stockade you will notice sections where the logs are horizontal rather than upright. Unique construction of the outer walls of some buildings became part of the stockade. You will also notice that in places the stockade walls are shorter to allow a view beyond the wall, an intentional design when the walls were renovated. Originally, gun openings were cut at regular intervals around the entire stockade wall allowing the military to see out and protect the fort.
Photo captions:
The entire area wasn't enclosed by the stockade. On the north side of Military Road stood a number of other buildings which played an important role in the fort's operation. There was a carpenter shop, bakehouse, laundress houses, blacksmith shop, quartermaster's office, stables and a granary.
All surface evidence of these buildings has been destroyed by modern agriculture and development, however, in 2006 an archaeological survey using ground-penetrating radar identified the buried remains of some of them.
Location. 43° 8.735′ N, 91° 56.323′ W. Marker is in Fort Atkinson, Iowa, in Winneshiek County. It can be reached from 2nd Street east of 8th Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 303 2nd St, Fort Atkinson IA 52144, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northeast Iowa the Driftless Area and in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and in the Driftless Area Bluff Country. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Constructing Fort Atkinson (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Atkinson (within shouting
August 17, 2017
2. Northeast block house in front of the stockade marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 24, 2021. This page has been viewed 256 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on May 24, 2021. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
