Logan Township in Ellington in Reynolds County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Fort Barnesville

National Historic Site

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 31, 2023

1. Fort Barnesville Marker

Inscription. Fort Barnesville is believed to have been built by the Union army in early 1863 to observe troop movement along the Belleview Trail. The fort was discovered by Dan Massie while hunting in the 1950s. In 1995, Gerald Angel, assisted by John Bradbury, Jerry Ponder and Joe Huett, researched and authenticated the fort. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 1, 1998.

Marker provided by the Reynolds County Genealogy and Historical Society, Inc., with a grant from the Taum Sauk Fund.

Erected 2014.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is July 1, 1998.

Location. 37° 13.203′ N, 90° 59.216′ W. Marker is in Ellington, Missouri, in Reynolds County. It is in Logan Township. It can be reached from Deer Park Trail 1. Located in Deer Run State Forest. To reach the site, follow the signs on Deer Park Trail, onto an unmarked dirt road going north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 680 Deer Park Trail 1, Ellington MO 63638, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this

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marker is in Southeast Missouri. It is also in the American Ozarks,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

and in the Corn Belt.

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,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Reynolds County (approx. 4.8 miles away).

Also see . . . (PDF) Fort at Barnesville. PDF copy of the National Register documentation for the site. Note this fortification is actually classed as a redoubt (based on the trace of the work). The redoubt covered the road between Barnesville (now Ellington) and Van Buren, Missouri. It featured an elevated platform for artillery. Most likely the fort was built by the 13th Illinois Cavalry, a unit operating in the area in 1863 and which had built other fortifications in the area. (Submitted on August 6, 2023, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 31, 2023

2. Fort Barnesville Marker

Portion of the wall of Fort Barnesville image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 31, 2023

3. Portion of the wall of Fort Barnesville

Magazine Remains image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 31, 2023

4. Magazine Remains

In the center of the works is a sunken pit filled with water. This may be a hole created when the redoubt's magazine.

Parapet and wall of the Redoubt image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 31, 2023

5. Parapet and wall of the Redoubt

Credits. This page was last revised on December 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2023, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 778 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 6, 2023, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.