Breastworks
Probably built by two companies of the 2nd Infantry, under command of Capt. D. Davidson, in June-July, 1859. Parapets were then about 5 ft. high. A log house once stood in the center, but was razed long ago for firewood. Cannon . . . — — Map (db m179795) HM
Captain DeLozier Davidson and his soldiers from Fort Randall constructed this military fort in 1859. It served as a supply post for Fort Wadsworth, now called Fort Sisseton. Soldiers manned the fort, also called a breastwork, until December 1864 . . . — — Map (db m237191) HM
In memory of the Dakota whose lives were taken at Fort Thompson in 1863, these were the innocent exiled from Minnesota, who suffered hardship and sickness at this camp.
The stone that stands here, reminds us of the land from which you came. . . . — — Map (db m185463) HM WM
A Crow Creek Sioux dancer at a powwow.
Courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting
The Crow Creek Reservation began in a tragic story of hardship. The Uprising, or the U.S. – Dakota War, started in 1862 when starving Dakota . . . — — Map (db m242476) HM
The Omaha and Ponca
The Omaha and Ponca tribes were once a single people closely related to the Osage, Kansa and Quapaw tribes of the lower Missouri and Mississippi River valleys. The ancestoral Omaha-Ponca people migrated from that region . . . — — Map (db m234981) HM
Basin
Many thousands of years ago a great continental ice sheet advancing from the northeast onto the northern plains blocked or reversed the flow of all rivers it came into contact with. The result of this titanic natural force was the . . . — — Map (db m234980) HM
Bonesteel
South Dakota
Quasquicentennial
1892 - 2017
Pride in the Past Faith in the Future
One of the iron posts used to mark the corner of the Fort Randall Military Reservation was originally located approximately two miles east and . . . — — Map (db m234936) HM
"Life was a constant routine of going to the same dinners, listening to the same stories, laughing at the same jokes; whist and euchre parties...now and then afforded relaxation; the inevitable quarrels of such a small society added a little . . . — — Map (db m188307) HM
The daily life of soldiers on a frontier fort was often difficult and monotonous. Regimented by army routine and regulations, soldiers spent most of their time performing routine drills and duties.
Enlisted men were also assigned fatigue duty, . . . — — Map (db m188306) HM
In 1880, the 25th Infantry—one of four U.S. Army regiments of African Americans—were headquartered at Fort Randall. Members of the regimental headquarters staff, regimental band, and three companies remained here for nearly three years.
Native . . . — — Map (db m188321) HM
"Our new fort is considered to be the most elegant and best constructed frontier military fort on the Upper Missouri. We consider our accommodations to be the lap of luxury in the wilds of Dakota Territory."
—Soldier at Fort Randall, . . . — — Map (db m188311) HM
During the Civil War, regular army regiments were sent east and replaced with state and territorial forces. Despite these personnel changes, daily life at the fort remained the same.
(Captions)
In the months leading up to the Civil War . . . — — Map (db m188320) HM
Fort Randall headquarters once stood on this spot. Known as "the house," it was the vital hub of the post and the commanding officer's home. Between 1856 and 1892, Fort Randall had 50 different commanding officers.
Captions: . . . — — Map (db m188308) HM
Soldiers were expected to respond to orders instantly and without question, especially during battle. To instill such obedience, military discipline was a regular part of fort life. Rules were strictly enforced, and punishment was often harsh. . . . — — Map (db m188319) HM
Keeping soldiers fed was a challenge on the frontier. Supplies were often limited to what could be preserved and shipped long distances.
An enlisted man's rations consisted of flour, salt beef, salt pork, beans, rice, molasses, and coffee. The . . . — — Map (db m188313) HM
The parade ground was the heart of the frontier fort. Here soldiers gathered for roll call, drills, and dress parades beneath the stars and stripes flying high on the towering flagstaff.
The parade ground was also used for recreation, including . . . — — Map (db m188312) HM
"Imagine yourself standing on a plain on which your eye can see no bounds. Not a tree, not a shrub, not a tall weed. Imagine then countless herds of buffaloes. If you can imagine all this, then you will know what Fort Randall is like, and the . . . — — Map (db m188300) HM
was established by Brig. Gen. W. S. Harney in 1856 and named by him for Col. Daniel Randall, Deputy Paymaster U.S. Army. Construction was started on June 26, 1856 by 1st Lts. George H. Paige, 2nd Inf. and D.S. Stanley, 1st Cavalry, Col. E. Lee 2nd . . . — — Map (db m188367) HM
Hardship on the Frontier
The cemetery once contained more than 150 burials dating from the nineteenth century, representing different nationalities, races, ages, genders, occupations, and causes of death. The soldiers, family members, and . . . — — Map (db m235132) HM
A Record of the Frontier
Established in June 1856, Fort Randall was the first permanent military post in present-day South Dakota. The Fort Randall cemetery served as the final resting place for both military personnel and civilians in the . . . — — Map (db m235133) HM
The Cemetery Plan
The Fort Randall Post Cemetery was platted in 1877. Soldiers from the first infantry built a picket fence along its perimeter, planted trees, developed walkways, and placed grave markers over the graves. The post . . . — — Map (db m235134) HM
In 1854, Lieutenant Grattan led a party of 29 soldiers from Fort Laramie to arrest a Dakota man accused of killing a settler's ox. When the tribe refused to surrender the man and tensions escalated, Grattan ordered his men to open fire, killing a . . . — — Map (db m188302) HM
Unlike fur trade forts, most military posts like Fort Randall did not have a stockade. Military forts didn't need a protective wall surrounding their buildings because they had military personnel to protect them. Most frontier military posts on the . . . — — Map (db m188303) HM
Fort Randall saw many advances in weaponry during its lifetime. Improvements in ammunition and firearms resulted in greater power and accuracy as well as faster loading and firing.
A magazine for the storage of weapons was one of the first . . . — — Map (db m188318) HM
On the plain below stand the ruins of Fort Randall's chapel, the sole aboveground remains of a once bustling frontier post. Soldiers from Fort Randall—the U.S. Army's principal military and supply post on the Upper Missouri, 1856–92—protected . . . — — Map (db m235026) HM
More soldiers were killed by disease, accidents, and harsh weather than by battle. Diarrheal diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, and cholera were the most common and deadly, followed by malaria. These diseases spread rapidly due to poor diet, . . . — — Map (db m188315) HM
You're standing in front of one of the five barracks at Fort Randall. Enlisted men were originally housed in log structures. These were replaced in the early 1870s with framed, two-story buildings.
Captions:
Frame barracks at Fort . . . — — Map (db m188310) HM
Between retreat and lights out, soldiers had a few hours of free time. They usually spent their time in the barracks or at the post trader's store, talking, smoking, playing music, singing—or drinking and gambling. Officers often joined fraternal . . . — — Map (db m188314) HM
provided in further explanation of the plane orientation table to the right rear.
Legend
A - Comdg. Off. Qtrs.
B - Officers Qtrs.
C - Barracks
D - Hospital
E - Guard House
F - Magazine
G - Commissary & Store
H - . . . — — Map (db m187793) HM
"The life my people want is a life of freedom.... Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my . . . — — Map (db m188322) HM
The first soldiers to garrison Fort Randall were 365 men and 22 officers from the 2nd Infantry. Commissioned officers were usually career soldiers who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Enlisted men were volunteers who usually . . . — — Map (db m188305) HM
People needed more than food and shelter on a frontier fort. In 1875, soldiers of the 1st Infantry built a chapel that included a library and an Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) meeting hall.
Since the chapel was not a military building, . . . — — Map (db m188297) HM
The quartermaster and commissary storehouse once stood on this spot. Quartermaster and Commissary Departments worked together to keep the fort supplied.
The quartermaster was responsible for the fort's uniforms, equipment, transportation, and . . . — — Map (db m188317) HM
In the mid-1800s, the United States had a growing appetite for land and natural resources. Wanting to expand across the continent, Congress passed the Donation Land Claim Act in 1850, offering free land to encourage settlement in the Oregon . . . — — Map (db m188301) HM
"The closure of Fort Randall followed closely the passing of the frontier as officially pronounced by the national census of 1890.... The days of the Missouri River posts were gone."
— historian Jerome A. Greene, Fort Randall on . . . — — Map (db m188323) HM
Although the fort was abandoned and its buildings sold or dismantled in the 1890s, objects found during archaeological digs at Fort Randall nearly a century later provided clues to daily life at this and other frontier posts. Apart from building . . . — — Map (db m188285) HM
Lat 43° 3' 15" N
Long 98° 33' 21" W
You are just downriver from Ft. Randall Dam, the first dam in South Dakota completed under the Pick-Sloan Plan by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1956.
The Missouri River remains . . . — — Map (db m235011) HM
The building that once stood here housed junior officers called subalterns. Officers' wives, along with their children and servants, were allowed to live on a frontier fort. The officers' wives formed a Women's Association to help relieve the . . . — — Map (db m188309) HM
In the field 400 yards south is a monument to and vestiges of the site of Fort Sully. After General Alfred Sully's troops had fought the Battle of Whitestone Hill near Ellendale, North Dakota, against the Indians in the fall of 1863, they marched . . . — — Map (db m220040) HM
"Sat. Nov. 25, 1865. Ft. Wadsworth. Arrived at 3 p.m. Received my pay, paid my debts and have $20 left." As the assistant to the commanding officer, the adjutant kept track of the men who were on furlough, in the hospital or on field . . . — — Map (db m162309) HM
Wed. Oct. 25, 1865. Our company is ordered to Fort Wadsworth-- bad luck to them! Men feel badly about being ordered to Wadsworth--it seems as though it was going out of the world again. But it is a soldier's duty to obey orders.
Andrew . . . — — Map (db m101242) HM
Wed. Oct. 25, 1865. Our company is ordered to Fort Wadsworth-- bad luck to them! Men feel badly about being ordered to Wadsworth--it seems as though it was going out of the world again. But it is a soldier's duty to obey . . . — — Map (db m162131) HM
"Wed. Oct 22, 1865. Fifteen men armed two stockades." Fort Wadsworth (Fort Sisseton) was surrounded on three sides by water and situated on a hill. These were the fort's natural defenses. Structural defense systems consisted of . . . — — Map (db m162305) HM
Thurs. Dec. 7, 1865. Major Rose called all the companies together today, gave them a talking to and much good advice. There has been quite a spirit of unrest among the men. The men were anxious to return to civil life.
This structure was . . . — — Map (db m162304) HM
"Wed. Jan. 3, 1866. Have been to work all day at headquarters making out monthly returns for December 1865. Took a list of clothing the boys wanted to draw for January."
The Commissary Sergeants earned a wage of $21.00 per month. Their . . . — — Map (db m197924) HM
One of the doctor's duties was to record mammal sightings. In 1869, elk, buffalo, antelope, grey wolf, and black bear were recorded. The antelope is the only animal still sighted in this region.
Due to dwindling numbers, an order was . . . — — Map (db m101238) HM
Memorandum: Dick Wilson enlisted in our squad from S. Paul in October 1863. He was a very bad case. His home has been the guard house ever since he enlisted. He broke out and deserted the 13th of February. He was caught and brought back. Again he . . . — — Map (db m101229) HM
Sun. Nov. 26, 1865. Doc and Shep up all night gambling. Blowers and Peterson each made $25 tonight playing "Honest-John."
During the Roaring Twenties, the Fort was leased for use as a hunting lodge. The hospital became the club room and . . . — — Map (db m162132) HM
"Fri. Nov. 17. Doc and Tom Holdship arrived from St. Paul via Ridgely. Doc looks well. Holdship has immense whiskers. Drew up a list of clothing needed by men."
Dampness from living in the barracks, harsh weather conditions and . . . — — Map (db m162299) HM
Wed. Jan. 3, 1866. We are mighty anxious to get mail. Nothing will make soldiers homesick so quick as not receiving letters from families or friends.
Filling the countless hours proved to be a soldier's greatest challenge. According to . . . — — Map (db m162136) HM
"Tues. Jan 2. [1866] Finished reading a good novel titled the 'Love Test.' It's a splendid story. C. O. Frenchies' writing school is in full blast tonight in the kitchen. About 40 of the boys are attending. It is a good thing--makes the evening . . . — — Map (db m162296) HM
Mon. Dec. 4, 1865. Captain took all the ammunition over to the magazine and read the army regulations to the men.
The U.S. Springfield and the British-made Enfield were the two basic firearms of the Civil War period. Both muzzleloaders . . . — — Map (db m162310) HM
Sun. Nov. 12, 1865. The fort has greatly improved since we were here a year ago. Stone quarters nearly completed for us to go into.
Living conditions at the Fort were crude. Wood bunks were furnished with wool blankets and mattresses . . . — — Map (db m101233) HM
"Thursday, Jan. 18. Lt. Briley has taken command of the company. He has been relieved from duty at inspection-except at his post. He was over to Roll Call this morning but nobody was up-when Sgt. Knight politely told him that we hadn't had any . . . — — Map (db m162308) HM
The log building had a shingled roof and was 145' long and 24' wide. A storage cellar sat under on-third of the building. While large, the building was not well constructed. Rain and snow blew through the roof and damaged supplies.
When . . . — — Map (db m162138) HM
Tues. Nov. 14, 1865. Took the best bath I could and put on clean clothes, first time in nearly three weeks. We indulged in a stag dance this evening.
Soldiers spent much of their off duty time playing chess, checkers and card games. . . . — — Map (db m101231) HM
“Tues. Dec. 12, 1865. Very cold-very. My pony broke through the ice while I was watering him and he nearly perished with cold before I could get him back to the stable.”
During the winter of 1864, there was an urgent need to . . . — — Map (db m162140) HM
In February 1871, President Grant approved an 82,000 acre parcel of land measuring nine miles by fifteen miles as the Fort Sisseton Military Reservation. The land was set aside for use by the military for training exercises and hay ground for . . . — — Map (db m101225) HM
Major John Clowney, 30th Wisconsin Infantry with Cos. B. E. G. and K, Captains Burton, Devlin, Swain & Klatt, started the fort on 1 August 1864, pursuant to orders of General John Pope, Department Commander. They were mostly from the north woods and . . . — — Map (db m179954) HM
In 1996, with Executive Order 96-06, South Dakota Governor William J. "Bill" Janklow created the Governor's Commission on Fort Sisseton. His action ensured that input from dedicated local individuals, with a knowledge of history and a passion . . . — — Map (db m103085) HM
The last county organized east of the Missouri, on May 2, 1885; it had been in Sheyenne County 1862; a gigantic Hanson 1870; coincident with Stone 1873; the north half of Day 1879 and was created by the 1885 Legislature and named for Governor . . . — — Map (db m91617) HM
The cemetery roster reveals countless hardships. Nine of the people interred in this cemetery succumbed to typhoid, and four to consumption (tuberculosis). Two each died by fever, drowning, freezing, bronchitis, pneumonia, meningitis and . . . — — Map (db m101226) HM
Curt Jones loved history for a lot of reasons. He saw history as a collection of great stories that can be told and retold. He saw history as a book of lessons to be learned. Most of all, he saw history as an experience that you can keep only if . . . — — Map (db m103086) HM
The log buildings along the south side of the fort were used as officers quarters in the early years of the fort. When the brick officers' quarters were completed the log buildings became married enlisted men's and laundress quarters.
. . . — — Map (db m101234) HM
The prairie pothole lakes region that surrounds Fort Sisseton is a haven for birds. Birds and waterfowl were found in abundance when the military arrived at Fort Sisseton. In 1868 and 1869, Fort surgeon Dr. B. Knickerbocker recorded 44 species of . . . — — Map (db m101243) HM
The Coteau des Prairies and glacial lakes region was a wonderful habitat for wildlife. The post surgeon, who also served as the post naturalist, kept records of the wildlife he observed. Through his records, we learn that human interference has . . . — — Map (db m101727) HM
On this parade ground in 1892 "The Star Spangled Banner" got its impetus to become the National Anthem. Colonel Caleb Carlton of the Eighth Cavalry was Post Commander and with his wife discussed the need for a National Air. At her suggestion he . . . — — Map (db m185221) HM
There had long been talk of the need for a military post in the region. As far back as 1857, First Lieutenant Warren recognized the strategic importance of the Black Hills. On Sept. 30, 1857, Lt Warren, while on a military survey of the region, . . . — — Map (db m174069) HM
Fort Dakota was established in 1865 at the abandoned Sioux Falls City town site. Regulars of the 22nd U.S. Infantry Regiment were stationed there in 1866. Four men from this regiment died before the fort was closed in 1869. They were buried in the . . . — — Map (db m206795) HM
Following the founding of Sioux Falls City in 1856, a trail was developed on the east side of the Big Sioux River. It linked the tiny village with Sioux City, Iowa. After the Amidon slayings in 1862, Sioux Falls City was abandoned.
In 1865 Lt. . . . — — Map (db m199850) HM
Under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, Indians were permitted to claim 160-acre homesteads on public lands. In February of 1869, a band of Dakota families left the Santee Agency at Niobrara, Nebr., to head for eastern Dakota Territory. They were on . . . — — Map (db m208567) HM
In February 1942 civic leaders in Sioux Falls became aware that the city was being considered for a possible defense facility. They indicated that a military installation would revitalize a rater stagnant economy as well as reflecting the city's . . . — — Map (db m169910) HM
In 1859 Henry Masters, governor of the squatter government at Sioux Falls City, was the first resident of the village to die. He was buried in an open field near his home, close to this location.
The next deaths were those of Judge Joseph B. . . . — — Map (db m207159) HM
Over history the falls have been revered by many different Native American cultures. No formal archaeological digs have been performed at the falls area, but stone tools have been found throughout the region. The area surrounding the falls was . . . — — Map (db m124493) HM
The birthplace of First Congregational Church was in an abandoned enlisted men's barracks at Fort Dakota, a frontier outpost. The fort closed in 1869. Before its buildings were razed, many newcomers coming to resettle Sioux Falls temporarily lived . . . — — Map (db m192120) HM
In late 1862, as the Civil War raged on in parts of the South, the Great Plains faced a war of their own: a battle between Native Americans and early settlers of the region. As violence escalated in Minnesota, news of the battles and ensuing . . . — — Map (db m194831) HM
On the west side of the River was the site of Fort Dakota. Sioux Falls, initially settled in 1857, was evacuated when the "Dakota War" of 1862 in southwest Minnesota threatened the settlement and remained deserted until Fort Dakota was established . . . — — Map (db m194905) HM
(side one)
Residents fled Sioux Falls City, Dakota Territory, after the 1862 slaying of the Amidons. The town site was abandoned until May 5, 1865, when Lt. Col. John Pattee chose this location for Fort Brookings, a new military post.
. . . — — Map (db m124189) HM
To the east of the Rock Island railroad depot is a memorial to the settlers of "Sioux Falls City" who occupied this area between 1857 and 1862. Due to a scare that Indians were about to attack in June of 1858, a sod fortification was constructed . . . — — Map (db m184847) HM
In the summer of 1858, a fort was built nearby to defend the early Sioux Falls settlers against the Yankton Sioux Indians. A stand-off ensued.
The Claim
In the fall of 1856, speculators from the Western Town Company claimed a town . . . — — Map (db m192046) HM
This plaque is dedicated to an outstanding pioneer woman whose efforts helped to develop the religious, educational, civic, and cultural life of the community.
Dr. Josiah L. Phillips brought his wife Hattie to abandoned Fort Dakota in 1870, . . . — — Map (db m192243) HM
Josiah L. Phillips, was born in Maine in 1835. He graduated from a Chicago medical school at the age of 21. After moving to Dubuque, Iowa, he joined the Western Town Company. In 1856 it had laid claim to a town site at the falls of the Big Sioux . . . — — Map (db m192218) HM
Archaeology is the study of past human cultures. It teaches us about past events and ways of life. Archaeology also reveals how people lived day-to-day and how they dealt with changes in their environment.
Excavation - the exposure, . . . — — Map (db m124484) HM
The fur trade brought American Indian and European American cultures together. Fort Pierre Chouteau, built here by the American Fur Company (A.F.C.) in 1832, provided a place for trade. Sioux hunters brought furs and buffalo hides. They shared . . . — — Map (db m124357) HM
This tablet marks the site and
commemorates the institution of
Fort Pierre Choteau Trading Post
chief landmark of fur-trading period, 1822 – 1864
on the Upper Missouri River between
the Platte and the Yellowstone.
Founded, 1832, . . . — — Map (db m177392) HM
The 1803 Louisiana Purchase expanded the United States westward. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and The Corps of Discovery explored the nation's vast new territory on their 1804-1806 journeys. They found an abundance of beaver, buffalo, and . . . — — Map (db m124297) HM
Fort Pierre Chouteau Site
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
This site possesses national significance
in commemorating the History of the
United states of America 1991
National Park Service
United States . . . — — Map (db m124528) HM
The American Fur Company (A.F.C.), John Jacob Astor's enterprise, built Fort Pierre Chouteau in 1832. The fort was named for Pierre Chouteau, Jr., who ran the Western Department of the A.F.C. from St. Louis. The Upper Missouri proved profitable for . . . — — Map (db m124299) HM
Fort Pierre Chouteau's two-year stint as a military fort started in 1855. The Black Hills Gold Rush brought white travelers into lands occupied by American Indians, increasing tensions. The U.S. Army set up forts to protect travelers. Fort Pierre . . . — — Map (db m124435) HM
Fur companies made money by bartering trade goods to American Indians and white trappers for furs. The furs were shipped east and sold to make hats and coats. The fur trading posts were near the fur-bearing animals they depended on. They were . . . — — Map (db m124298) HM
Up the canyon on U.S. 14 to the west, the Ft. Pierre-Deadwood Trail of 1876-86, the main artery of commerce to the "gold diggins” of the Black Hills had its course. Untold thousands of patient oxen pulled millions of tons of freight over that . . . — — Map (db m177390) HM
This granite block erected by the Old Settlers Association of Union County, South Dakota, marks the site of Fort Brule Built in 1862 by soldiers and settlers as protection against renegade and hostile Indians. Abandoned in 1868 Dismantled . . . — — Map (db m190166) HM
