Powder Magazine

Powder Magazine. . The powder magazine housed the fort's munitions and therefore was located away from the main military complex. Ironically, it is one of the few fort structures remaining. It replaced the original magazine, a dugout constructed when the post was established in 1868. , The structure was built in 1881 from locally quarried stone and from materials fabricated at the Department of the Platte Headquarters in Omaha and shipped by rail to Fort Fred Steele. With sturdy walls of random-coursed ashlar sandstone, the powder magazine remains essentially the same as it was in 1881, although the tin roof has been replaced with shingles and internal shelving has been removed. , Few artillery pieces and only small quantities of ammunition were kept at the post. Fort Fred Steele generally had only a single mountain howitzer, and sometimes a Gatling gun on hand. Other explosive and combustable materials such as powder, fuses and signaling fireworks probably also were stored in this building.