Fort James was established in 1865 as a cavalry fort in
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 ...
.
Established
Fort James was built in 1865 in
Hanson County, South Dakota
Hanson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,461. Its county seat is Alexandria. The county was founded in 1871 and organized in 1873. It was named for Joseph R. Hanson, clerk of the f ...
.
[South Dakota State Historical Society https://history.sd.gov/Archives/forms/military/Fort%20James.pdf] The fort was located on the James River at its junction with Shell Creek.
History
The fort was abandoned in 1867.
There are reports that the fort was partly burned about two years after it was abandoned.
Description
Fort James is the only stone-built fort in the period of US expansion to the west.
Television Coverage
Fort James was the subject of an episode of the PBS TV archaeology series Time Team America.
Notes
References
* Lee, Robert, ''Fort Meade, the peace keeper post on the Dakota Frontier, 1878-1944'', Old Fort Meade Museum & Historic Research Association, 1987.
* Osburn, James D., Stewart, Ken R. and Wendt, Lonis R. ''Fort Pierre-Deadwood Trail: Then & Now'', Cheyenne River Press, 2008.
External links
Anniversary Wagon Train is a 17-day ride into History
{{coord missing, South Dakota
Buildings and structures in Hanson County, South Dakota
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
Pre-statehood history of South Dakota
National Register of Historic Places in Hanson County, South Dakota