Fort Totten Historic Site

Fort Totten Historic Site. North Dakota History. , Named in honor of Brevet Major General Joseph Gilbert Totten, Fort Totten protected overland transportation and communication routes from Minnesota to the Missouri River and Montana. In addition, the treaty of February 19, 1867, provided for a Sioux reservation near Devils Lake and small groups of Sisseton, Wahpeton and Cuthead Sioux quickly moved into the area. The military provided provisions and protection until 1871 when the Indian population was large enough to allow an agency. The fort then assisted the agency with the process of acculturation of the native peoples. , The original fort, built in 1867, consisted of crude log structures surrounded by a stockade of oak logs and was located 800 yards to the north. Work on the permanent post began a year before Congress authorized funds on April 6, 1869, and it is this 1868-1871 development that stands almost intact today. Outside the parade ground and surrounding square were the stables, quartermasters storehouses, sinks, bath houses and other service buildings. Fort Totten was an infantry garrison until 1873; thereafter, two or three infantry companies and one or two cavalry companies manned the post until it closed. , As the residents of Devils Lake Reservation became more self-sufficient, the military presence became unnecessary and even detrimental to Indian progress. The fort was abandoned in 1890 and Congress approved transfer of the facilities to the Department of Interior for use as an Indian School. In 1960, Fort Totten was turned over to the state for preservation as an historic site.