Fort Atkinson was the first

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

post to be established west of the Missouri River in the unorganized region of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

of the United States. Located just east of present-day

Fort Calhoun, Nebraska Fort Calhoun is a city in Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 908 at the 2010 census. The city includes Fort Atkinson, the first fort built west of the Missouri River. History Fort Calhoun was platted in 1855. It w ...

, the fort was erected in 1819 and abandoned in 1827. The site is now known as Fort Atkinson State Historical Park and is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. A replica fort was constructed by the state at the site during the 1980s–1990s. The post, which included soldiers, traders, trappers, and other frontier people, has been credited by the

Nebraska State Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the small ...

as the first town in Nebraska. Founded almost 30 years before the creation of the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...

, Fort Atkinson had more than 1,000 residents. It included a brickyard, lime kiln, stone quarry, grist mill, saw mill, and cooper shop.(1912) ''Bulletin.'' Issues 2. Nebraska State Legislature. p. 7.

Lewis and Clark

The site that would become Fort Atkinson was the Council Bluff (not to be confused with

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, 20 miles to the south), which was the site of an 1804 council between the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

and members of the

Oto Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to: People * Oto (name), including a list of people with the name *The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people Places *Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon * Otorohanga, a to ...

and

Missouria The Missouria or Missouri (in their own language, Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States before European contact.May, John D"Otoe-Missouria"''Oklaho ...

Native American tribes.

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

recommended the high bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the United States government as a suitable location to build a fort.

Council Bluff: frontier post

Fifteen years later, in 1819, President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

dispatched a military expedition (the Yellowstone Expedition, led by Colonel Henry Atkinson) to establish a series of forts along the Missouri. These forts were to support the American

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

and counteract British influence on the northern plains. The 6th US Infantry and 1st Rifle Regiments made up the military portion of the expedition, which arrived at the Council Bluff site on September 19. Their establishment of Fort Atkinson made it the first major American fort west of the Missouri River. It was located near Fort Lisa and

Cabanne's Trading Post Cabanne's Trading Post was established in 1822 by the American Fur Company as Fort Robidoux near present-day Dodge Park in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was named for the influential fur trapper Joseph Robidoux. Soon after it was opene ...

, private

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

establishments operated by major traders who were based in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. The expedition stopped to build Cantonment Missouri, a winter camp along the river bottom below the bluffs. Abandoning plans to establish more forts upstream, the soldiers settled in for winter. The winter of 1819–20 was very harsh; a shortfall of government contractors left the garrison without sufficient supplies. The soldiers suffered widespread

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

(due to poor nutrition and lack of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

), which claimed the lives of over 200 of the 1,120 men that first winter. Estimates of the civilian deaths is possibly as high as double the military dead; no records were kept of their losses. In the spring of 1820, the Missouri River flooded Cantonment Missouri. The soldiers built a permanent camp atop Council Bluff, and renamed it Fort Atkinson. The site was designated on US Federal Government maps as "Fort Calhoun" in honor of the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, however the US Army named the actual encampment after its first commander. During the 1820s, soldiers took

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

observations as research for the government. The garrison was involved in combat only in 1823. Members of the

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

tribe attacked a trading party led by

William H. Ashley William Henry Ashley (c. 1778 – March 26, 1838) was an American miner, land speculator, manufacturer, territorial militia general, politician, frontiersman, fur trader, entrepreneur, hunter, and slave owner. Ashley was best known for being th ...

along the Missouri River in present-day

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. Soldiers from the fort retaliated by attacking the Arikara villages. Although no American soldiers died in the brief skirmish, seven soldiers drowned on the way upriver when their

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

struck a log. They were counted as the first United States' casualties in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

on the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. In 1827, the Army abandoned the fort at Council Bluff and reassigned its personnel to other locations, primarily

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

Re-activation of Fort Atkinson

When the

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

established

Cutler's Park Cutler's Park was briefly the headquarters camp of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) established by 2,500 members as they were making their way westward to the Rocky Mountains. It was apparently created in August 1846 and ...

in the

North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska), Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River a ...

area in 1846, some of their food for the harsh winter was provided from old provisions they found at the fort. By the 1850s, when widespread European-American settlement began in the area, little remained of the fort. In the 1950s,

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

crews determined the locations of buildings at the Fort Atkinson site. The

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) is the State of Nebraska's State agency charged with stewardship of the state's fish, wildlife, state park, and outdoor recreation resources. The agency is led by a governor-appointed member commission ...

gained title to the site in 1963. During the 1980s and 1990s, it reconstructed the fort. Today, Fort Atkinson is a Nebraska state historical park, which includes a military museum. It was designated a

in 1961.

Living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

demonstrations take place on the first weekend of each month from May to October. In addition to people demonstrating craft work and the duties of the Indian agent, military re-enactors interpret the activities of the Sixth Regiment of United States Infantry and First Regiment of United States Riflemen.

References

External links

Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park Map
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
The Friends of Fort Atkinson
{{authority control Archaeological sites in Nebraska

Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: Places *Atkinson, Nova Scotia, Canada * Atkinson, Dominica, a village in Dominica *Atkinson, Illinois, U.S. * Atkinson, Indiana, U.S. *Atkinson, Maine, U.S. *Atkinson Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. *Atkinson, Nebraska, U. ...

State parks of Nebraska National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska 1819 establishments in the United States Museums in Washington County, Nebraska Pre-statehood history of Nebraska Protected areas of Washington County, Nebraska Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Protected areas established in 1963 1963 establishments in Nebraska

National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Nebraska Lime kilns in the United States Forts along the Missouri River

Lewis and Clark

Council Bluff: frontier post

Re-activation of Fort Atkinson

See also

References

External links