The fort was established on the Oregon Trail on the south side of the Platte River in October 1863, on the eve of intensified Indian raids on the Plains.
Built next to the well-known Cottonwood Springs and McDonald ranch, it commanded a . . . — — Map (db m101821) HM
Frontier Fort
In 1863, the U.S. Army sent Gen. George M. O’Brien to select the site for a fort to protect the growing transcontinental railroad and settlers migrating west. Perched above Cottonwood Canyon in the Nebraska Territory, Fort McKean . . . — — Map (db m288799) WM
